Fireworks On The DL
by myboygeorge
Summary: Castle and Beckett have news of their own but when Lanie makes a life changing announcement, they decide to keep their 'fireworks' on the 'DL'.  Will they be able to keep the surprise?  Crumbsian, simultaneous timeline to 'Angel Undercover'
1. Jump: A Question

_Hello Caskett lovers! So we're doing a little time traveling with this story, as it takes place simultaneously to 'Angel Undercover' ! Hope you guys like the twists that lie ahead! Enjoy!_

* * *

It had been a hell of a day, Beckett thought, unfastening her earrings and dropping them into the glass dish shaped like a palm tree on the bureau. She'd expected a break or a link, even a nudge on the choke-and-stab murder cases but all of that had been overshadowed by the gigantic roundhouse kick Lanie had delivered to them at the morgue. And wasn't she a crafty little fox, shuffling her sonogram pictures in with the evidence they were looking at and then admitting the development foetus' home was her body.

She hadn't known what to think at first. She'd suspected it when her friend had blown her wad on scene - in the years they'd worked together, Beckett had never seen her so much as cough or gag when they had a body dump; Lanie was well known for her cast-iron stomach. Ryan, of course, had known; after all he was the first one of their circle of friends to go through the baby thing like this and had probably recognized the signs similar to when his own sweet Honey-Milk had been unknowingly knocked up. Though Beckett felt a slight twinge of jealousy her best friend hadn't come to her, she understood why Ryan had been Lanie's confidante. His baby had been a surprise too, and now it was impossible to imagine him without his snaps of his little boy on his desk, already fifteen months old and jabbering away like Castle on a sugar high.

Looking over her shoulder, she watched as Castle came in from the ensuite bathroom, patting his mouth dry on the morning's shower towel. He'd already changed out of his suit from the impromptu baby-celebration dinner he'd thrown together in a few hours for Lanie, making Beckett bite her lip. Though he always looked sharp when he was duded-out in one of his expensive Italian numbers, she loved him most like this - barefoot in his sleep-pants and a loose-fitting t-shirt. Maybe it was because when he was on the job with her in his Armani or Tessori day-wear he was Castle, adversary annoyance and undercover sage, but here at home together, pillow-talk and maybe more imminent, in his cheap sweats and tees he was her boyfriend Rich. Never Rick or Ricky, always Rich, right from the first time they'd been together two years before.

'Quite the day we've, had, huh?' she asked, him, watching him flop face first into their bed.

'And then some. Perhaps Ryan's just always gotten really bad hands.'

'The who now?' she asked, pulling a Mets shirt over her head before joining him.

'He's the last person I'd have expected to sit on an egg this big for the last how many weeks without so much as a blink.' He reached out his hand, squeezed her calf as she stretched out her long legs. 'Remember when we had the double down bet? He was gloating like a snotty little kid who got the best toys in the sandbox.'

'That's different, Rich. That's work, and him and his other half wanting to beat your ass at your own game.'

'They are a matching set, aren't they? Kinda like salt and pepper.'

'Peanut butter and jam.'

'Nachos and salsa.'

'Sex and candy. I could go for some right now, even.'

Beckett's hands paused midway through her hair. 'Seriously? That's your move to get me in the mood?'

'I meant candy but sex is good too.'

Grabbing her around the waist, Castle twisted so she was pinned beneath him. It still amazed him, even after two years together, that they'd stuck with each other. He was so certain and so scared she'd try to shake him loose, and here they were, living together with Alexis calling them Caskett. Beckett had originally thought that a little twisted and dark, until she remembered she made her living standing for the dead and he made his living writing for the bloodthirsty hoards who relished a good murder when it wasn't real.

It had taken some cajoling and multiple attempts but he'd finally gotten her to move in with her, which Alexis had been both thrilled and a little embarrassed by, because she knew what would happen beyond their bedroom door. But like any teenager going off to college, tuned it out with her headphones and acted like nothing happened the next morning. Beckett and Alexis had even begun to have their own girls' nights when Castle had to work late, dinner or a movie or even one time, renting motorbikes for an afternoon on a day at the race-track. That one had given Castle pause but when he'd seen how happy they were spending that female quality time together, he'd bitterly swallowed all those instinctive daddy-things to say and just let her enjoy the moment without his cloudiness.

And when they'd seen Alexis off at the end of summer back to England for school, he'd watched as both had sniffled a little when the redhead had passed through the security gate, then dab her eyes with a tissue in the cab home. Any woman who treated his princess like that wasn't just in it for the fun.

He kissed her cheek and as she turned her head so her throat was exposed to him, his for the taking, Castle studied her profile in the low light. Strong bones and he was certain there had to be some Eastern European in her blood, possibly her mother's side. Strong bones for a strong woman, he thought. His woman.

'Kate,' he said, tracing the tip of his index finger over her collar-bone. 'I want you to marry me.'

There was little that surprised homicide veteran cop Katherine Louise Beckett, but this one fairly did it.

'Excuse me?'

'I want you to marry me,' he repeated.

'Rich, isn't that a little sudden?'

'I don't think so. I knew the first night we spent together I'd ask you, it was just a matter of time.' Hoping he could seal the deal by proving he wasn't kidding around, he reached into his bedside table, the one where he knew she wouldn't look because she assumed he kept his dirty magazines there, he pulled out the little blue leather jeweler's box. He opened it, showed it to her. 'This was my grandmother's, my mother's mother's ring. She wanted my mother to have it but my mother didn't want to use it and I never asked for it because I want it to be for the right one.'

Stunned, overwhelmed, Beckett propped herself to her elbows. 'I'm not wearing some cupcake snow-beast dress, and I'm sure as hell not going to be called Detective Castle.'

'Is that a yes?' Castle's heart knocked against his chest in excitement. His throat slammed shut when she held out her hand and nodded.

'Yes.'

Beckett bit her lip to hold back the tears that had sprung to her eyes as she felt the band slide over her finger, admired the gold band fitting loosely around it. 'We'll need to get it sized.'

'Oh yeah, my gran had hands like Christmas hams.' Castle slipped it off, put it in the box for safe-keeping. 'Or if you like, we can hold onto it until the wedding itself.'

'No, no. I'll wear your ring, Castle.'

She didn't have time to get sniffly, for the moment he'd set the little box aside, he'd tackled her back to the bed.

'Now,' he said, 'we get to the good stuff to celebrate.'

* * *

R&R&Enjoy.


	2. Jump: A Meditation

'Castle, time to go.'

'Twice last night and again this morning? If you insist.'

'No, murder. Let's move.'

The hope of morning lovin' evaporated as Castle swung his feet to the floor, went downstairs to make coffee while Beckett took the shower. Since she needed to dry her hair he always gave her the shower first. Because he also knew her well, Castle popped bagels into the toaster; she'd eat and drive with the skill of a born New Yorker. Most men would have probably have balked at the notion that the woman was driving but then again, most men didn't sleep with a woman whose bedside table was home to a SIG P226.

Castle added strawberry cream cheese to her sesame seed, peanut butter to his whole wheat, put both on the island counter as he dashed upstairs. Living with a cop had meant he'd learned to move quickly in the mornings when he rolled out with her.

On his sprint through the shower, Castle spoke to her as she brushed her teeth. 'Breakfast is ready and waiting, and I'll be good to go in exactly eight minutes. I'm thinking about July.'

'Because October is so miserable?'

'For the wedding.'

'Right. About that.' Beckett spat in the sink, patted her mouth with the corner of her towel. 'I was thinking we should just keep this to ourselves for a bit. I can't help feeling like if we tell people, especially today, Lanie's going to feel like we're ignoring her and between a baby and wedding...' She trailed off, wishing she were more eloquent in expressing her rationale. 'She's one of my best friends and I don't want her to feel like I'm abandoning her.'

'It's not like some loser spent the night with her and is leaving her out to dry. She's been with Dave a year and a half.'

Beckett shook her head as she dressed, assembled what Castle lovingly called her 'Bat-belt' - weapon, communicator, cellphone, badge. 'It's a girl thing, Castle, and much as you understand how to write women, dealing with real ones is still hard for you.'

'I've learned a lot-'

'Really? And the tongue lashing you gave Lex for staying out until two am on a Friday night with her friends?'

'That's a parent thing.' Castle rinsed, shut off the water. He didn't like it; he wanted to brag to his friends that he was marrying Beckett, but he also understood there was little point in messing with the 'girl thing' card. He dressed in warm wool to guard against dreary autumnal weather. 'So where are we going this morning?'

* * *

The case was almost closed before it was opened - Imelda Ricardo had beat her abusive husband to death with a skillet when she found him touching their fifteen year old daughter. Though it meant her daughter would be under her aunt's care, Beckett knew the lawyers would dance their legal tango to get a woman who'd iced an abuser and rapist the smallest amount of punishment available. She couldn't whole-heartedly disagree with Imelda's final words in her statement before she asked for her lawyer: 'He can punch me around all he likes, because he was my choice but I warned him if he put his hands on my baby, he's a dead man.'

It made Beckett think of Alexis, how no matter how many times Castle requested background checks on Alexis' male friends and romantic interests or made noises about Interpol connections Beckett herself would make anyone who tried to hurt Alexis bite the sidewalk. She hadn't expected to feel so maternal towards the girl, young woman really, and yet they'd bonded in such an unanticipated way.

'Greetings from Chelsea.'

She could sense Esposito standing by her desk, but didn't acknowledge him until a gift landed before her eyes - plastic tupperware with a purple lid labeled 'Be-Cookies' in Meredeth's slanty hand. This time Beckett allowed herself to pause from filing her report on Imelda Ricardo. 'I see Meredeth's putting my bridal shower gift to use.'

'Are you kidding? She's having a blast. She's in research mode, yet again.'

Beckett popped the lid and could have cried - cranberry almond biscotti, the one cookie she knew Castle wouldn't try to steal from her since the last time he'd tried biscotti he'd nearly broken his tooth. Since she refused to waste her crappy on-scene coffee on such things, Beckett crooked a finger for her detective to follow her to the break-room. 'She finally let herself be convinced to do a cookbook?'

'Yep, though right now it didn't take much ear-twisting. As she said, after the minseries and us planning the wedding she's ready for some downtime, but Mere's like us that way, the brain just won't go into park so she's doing a food project.'

'And you have no problem being her guinea pig, do you?' Beckett smiled as she fired up good ol' Brewster for a latte. It was common knowledge that Meredeth made almost everything at home, even her pizza dough and dry pancake mix, while Esposito could burn a pot of boiling water. Any time his colleagues tried to bust him on it, Esposito pointed out he had sweet homemade treats from a hot wife to take to work, which usually shut most people up; his partner of course simply asked if there was anything for him.

'Not at all, though it means there's a little more unusual food on the table at home. Last night was Israeli couscous with mushrooms and lemon garlic sauce with tilapia on the side. She also mentioned something called 'tabuleh', which I'm hoping isn't some kind of weird tofu.'

'Do you care?'

Esposito scoffed as he passed Beckett the milk to steam. 'I'd walk to Jersey for her food, and if tastes like feet, I'll give it to the herbivore the next day for lunch so he's not whining about no-meatless options. Oh, before I forget, Mere's having a girls-only-party for her birthday on the fourth, if you can make it. Hitchcock festival and drinks at Marty and Teeny's.'

'Why nothing on the fifth?'

'I'm taking her to Vegas for four days.'

'Well la-di-da Detective.'

'I have to work Thanksgiving so it's a kind-of peace offering.'

'Ah.'

Beckett added milk to her coffee as Esposito left the room with his latte, pondered a little bit. Would she do things like that when she and Castle tied the knot? Would she actually use her vacation days up, maybe dip into a sick day here or there so they could spend time together one-on-one? It was possible she could do it, but would she want to change herself that much for him when he'd fallen for the cop? Maybe it'd be like Esposito - no one liked having their sleep disturbed less than him and hed' always bitched about middle-of-the-night rollouts. Then when he'd met Meredeth, he was even more impossible because he did nothing but bitch about how he'd been with her all warm and cozy when they'd gotten calls so late it was almost early, just like he always. He was still a cop, just one in committed, loving relationship. Maybe it was just a matter of meeting the right person who made you-

'Kate?'

Beckett opened her eyes, saw Ryan standing there. 'Yes.'

'We caught something here you might want to check out.'

'On my way.'

Beckett kept the sigh to herself. Bride-time would have to wait, just like everything else did when you were a cop.

* * *

R&R&Enjoy!


	3. Jump: A Confession

Castle blew out a breath as he had a staring contest with his phone, which sat on Beckett's desk. The little blue icon with the S in the middle had been mocking him all day; he hadn't had time to talk to his daughter that morning with the pre-shift rollout with his fiancee - the use of that word on Kate Beckett wasn't going to lose its flavour any time soon - but every time his phone had rang that day, he'd jumped like he was rediscovering a dead body in a refrigerator. He wanted to tell Alexis so badly, as his child had made no secret of her hope for the two of them getting hitched. And he sure as hell wasn't going to tell her without Beckett around; both his girls deserved the best treatment from him.

Now, it was six o'clock, eleven on the other side of the pond and his daddy-meter was starting to tick. Even by now she usually called him for a daily update, or sent an email or a smoke signal. Something.

'Beep-beep-beep!'

Castle jumped a foot out of his skin, scooping up his phone, the blushed an unflattering shade of sunburn red when he heard the snickering behind him. Tempering simmering, he turned to see the Ry-Sposito monster - Lanie's nickname for them seemed oddly appropriate right now - barely able to control their laughter at his reaction.

'Oh ha, ha, ha, very funny,' he seethed, narrowing his eyes at the crime-fighting duo. 'I'll remember this if you two ever have daughters going to college across the world. Besides, Alexis has a song ring-tone now.'

'You should be more worried your girl might take a shine to a cop,' Esposito fired back, slumping into his chair with a container of Meredeth's couscous and tilapia.

'Yeah, she might be home at Christmas saying she's met herself a nice bobby.' Ryan couldn't resist poking at Castle after taking so much of his crap when Honey-Milk had been pregnant and he'd nearly driven her crazy. 'A bobby named Bobby,' he added, holding his fingertips up for the little bird-beak bro-dap Esposito favoured.

'Bobby might also be a girl, you two hetero cavemen. Maybe Lex will dabble a little, being in college.'

Beckett appeared out of the captain's office, reached for her coat off the back of her chair. 'In the mean time, we have dinner to catch. Don't stay up too late.'

'Yes, Mom,' Ryan replied with a cheeky grin, got a ball-up paper scrap to the forehead for it before turning to Esposito; Beckett laughed as she walked away with the sound of Ryan asking Esposito for one of Meredeth's biscuits behind her.

The minute they were in the elevator, Beckett leaned her head against Castle's shoulder. 'It felt weird today,' she sighed. 'Seeing Lanie and not telling her, but she looks so damn happy about her baby.'

'Probably because she is, now that she's gotten to tell everyone. Some people are crazy like that, sharing news with their friends.'

'Excuse me while I sidestep the hole in the floor made by that anvil, Captain Obvious.'

'Kate, I'm not telling you what to do, but come on. Keeping this a secret from your best friend? I've seen _Real Housewives of New Jersey_ with that table flipping thing? Lanie's tiny but she can always tag Meredeth in to crush your neck with her thighs.'

'Meredeth is not that big and there will be no table flipping.'

The elevator opened at garage level, their footsteps echoing as they walked to the Crown Vic. The moment Castle had shut the passenger-side door, he heard the Clash's 'London Calling' on his phone. With slightly sweaty palms, he answered the Skype-video conference.

'Hi baby.'

Alexis grinned from in front of her computer. She had her hair in braid pigtails and was wearing her Cambridge pullover. 'Hey Dad, how's life in the Big Apple?'

'The usual.'

'Did Kate ask you to stay in the car when you went to arrest someone?'

'Wouldn't be a complete day if she didn't.' Castle grabbed Beckett's arm to stop her from turning on the engine and driving away. 'Listen, Lex, there's something we need to tell you.'

'What? What is it? Is it Grams? Do I need to come home?' Alexis' complexion went from milky to chalky, making Beckett roll her eyes and yank the device from his hand. She centred herself in the video frame, used her most maternal voice possible.

'No, it's good news Alexis.' Beckett reached for Castle's hand, squeezed tightly. 'Your father asked me to marry him last night.'

The squeal of delight from the phone speaker was so loud Beckett was amazed it didn't shatter the windows of her car. 'AHH! No way! You're getting married! Theresa! Maggie! Jacqueline!' Alexis bellowed over her shoulder to her flatmates, and in the corner of the video-stream both Castle and Beckett could see the door to her room open, heard the murmur of other female voices - one French, two English.

'What are you on about, girl?' one of them asked as Alexis wiggled like a worm in her chair.

'Tell them!'

Beckett saw Alexis position the web-cam so they saw the other three young women, and couldn't help but laugh. 'Alexis' father asked me to marry him last night!'

As expected, the other girls yelped with just as much enthusiasm as Alexis had, began firing questions at her like a machine gun.

'Did you cry?'

'Was there roses and wine?'

'Have you got a dress and a date yet?'

'Easy, easy,' Castle laughed. 'We haven't even told our friends yet. We're waiting on that front for a week or two which means no leaky emails, Miss Castle,' he told his daughter with a pointed finger.

'Guys can I have a minute?' When Alexis had ushered her flatmates out, she stared at them with all seriousness. 'I get to be there right?'

'Of course, Lex. I need someone to be my maid of honour.'

Now Alexis' eyes filled, her chin wobbling like a Jell-O mould. 'Really?

'They're not my future...stepdaughter,' Beckett said after a moment, as the gravity of it hit home. 'I remember the job you did for Ryan and Honey-Milk. It was beautiful.'

'Honey? Are you okay?' Castle was concerned about the look on her face, how she seemed to be hovering near total meltdown and bursting into song like a cartoon princess. 'Lex?'

'I'm just so happy for you guys. I know how hard it's been to get here, and I know you'll be together forever. Kate, I've never seen my dad light up like he does when he's around you, or you actually act like a grown-up so often without my supervision, Dad.'

Castle and Beckett both laughed with Alexis as she continued, 'I just heard one of my roommates open up some champagne and Jacqui made eclairs this afternoon. She's training at the Savoy to be a patissier.'

'Go have fun, and just one glass.'

'Dad, I'm nineteen, that's well over the legal age here. Love you guys!'

'Love you too, Alexis.'

The video-conference ended, and for a moment Castle and Beckett sat in the car with Alexis' outburst still ringing in their ears. They looked at each other.

'That could have been a lot...different.'

'Yeah, she could have lept through the phone.'

* * *

R&R&Enjoy.


	4. Jump: A Seduction I

It was a cold November morning in New York City and Castle was ready to scream, though not at the people who didn't know how to drive in season-changing weather. He walked into the break-room to find his fiancee there stirring steamed milk into plain coffee. He nearly yanked the mug out of her hand but he restrained himself - barely.

'Detective,' he said in a tight tone. 'Might we have a little discussion?'

Beckett arched her eyebrow at him. 'Okay?'

'Why aren't you wearing your ring?'

'I never wear rings at work, Castle. Personal preference.'

'Then where is it? I went to get it sized for you and it wasn't in the little box on your bedside table.'

'Don't you need my ring size to do that?' Since Castle looked like he was ready to choke, Beckett sighed. 'See? I told you I would wear it.'

Castle felt guilt and shame, topped with a heaping spoonful of love - she'd pulled the chain with her mother's ring on it from under her blouse, and right there beside it was the ring he'd given her, its diamond winking in the dull overhead light. 'I'm sorry. I just got concerned, that's all.'

'I know.' Beckett had wanted to have this conversation in a more private setting but Hallowe'en had been crazier than usual this year so the paperwork had been staggering from that single night and finding the time in the last two weeks had been quite difficult. Tucking her chain back under her blouse, she rested against the counter. 'I had a thought. What if we play poker face on them all?'

'Come again?'

'I've been thinking why should tell them at all? We've had so many huge things happen lately, Esposito and Meredeth getting married, Lily's baby born, Lanie's pregnant now. Wouldn't it be fun to get them all back for their big announcements and have the last laugh?'

'Like 'come to our place in the Hamptons for a summer holiday and oh by the way, it's our wedding?' That's despicably devious of you Detective.' Castle pinched her chin between forefinger and thumb. 'Looks like I've rubbed off on you more than I thought. Any idea about when this would happen?'

'I was thinking the Friday night of Independance Day weekend next year. Simple, private quiet, and just like Esposito and Meredeth, it'll only be the most important people in our lives there.'

'And it'll make Paula's head explode,' Castle added with a breathy smile. 'It's fantastic.'

He brushed his hands up her arms, and felt her stiffen as he pulled her close. The look on her face told him he would probably pay for it later, but still he put his hands on the small of her back and leaned in for a searing kiss. She made a noise of protest and would have gleefully kicked him in the coconuts had she been able to feel in her toes. It was only when they heard a throat being cleared that they broke apart. Because her back was turned, Beckett could only guess who it was with the ability to make her face stay permanently red and possibly turn her into the joke of the precinct.

'Yes?'

'Just getting a refill from Brewster, Detective.'

_Outstanding_, she thought, _worse than Ryan or the damned newlywed Esposito, it had to be my captain. _'Sir, I-'

Montgomery beat a hasty path out, leaving Beckett sighing at Castle in exasperation. 'You're so going to need to make up for this.'

'I know. And trust me, it will be when we have much less audience.'

* * *

He did indeed apologize later, and what an apology it was. After giving her some space for the evening to finish being angry at him for such a bold move in the break-room, when he'd finished wrestling chapter eight and came out winning, he trekked upstairs to the bedroom with one of her favourite discs in hand. He found her lying upside down in bed reading, her hair flowing down so it was less than an inch above the floor and wearing one of his t-shirts.

'You know, from this angle, you look absolutely delighted,' he said, popping the disc into the small three-in-one sound system in his armoire. 'So that means you're still cranky.'

'Not cranky, just irritated.'

Castle pressed a button and soft R&B music floated out. 'Perhaps you'll let me make it up to you.'

Beckett rolled over, leaving her book on the floor to study him. 'How?'

He flipped open the buttons of his shirt, went to untuck it from his belt, and found his hand stopped; she'd scooted forward so she was kneeling on the end of the bed, her fingers over his. Her hands replaced his, and for a moment as she pressed her hands to the small of her back, Beckett felt the world and all its problems float away. With all her hang-ups on relationships and his sketchy track record with women, they'd somehow made a romance together; it was something she was reminded of in these early moments of the dance.

She found his mouth, tender and firm and tasty, indulged her senses by kissing him sweetly. His lips were firm, yet they yielded underneath hers like melted chocolate; she especially liked it when he was also sporting a little scratch on his face like he was right now. She tore herself away from the kiss to run her mouth along his jaw line, from his chin to his ear, then nipped the lobe.

'Christ, Kate,' he muttered through clenched teeth as her slim, long hands untucked his shirt, slipped it from his shoulders before sliding his belt through its loops. He could feel his eyes pinwheel as she moved from his ear down his neck, pausing to nibble where his pulse banged like a drum under his skin. His intent had been to seduce her into forgiving him but somehow she'd reversed it on him, as he was just about ready to fall to his knees and promise her anything.

His body stiffened and jerked a little when she reached for his zipper, drew it down slowly. 'You're such an awful tease,' he sighed, drawing the hem of the shirt she wore upwards. 'See?' he gestured to her, as she was now wearing only her panties.

'Shh. No talking.' Beckett brushed her fingertip over his lips, licked her own as he finished undressing all the way, then tackled her to the bed. She stretched her long, lithe body against his solid one, loving the was his skin felt against hers. The weight of him pressing her into the bed never failed to make her feel sly and feminine, nor did the feel of him, hot and hard against the soft cotton of her underwear. Because she really wanted to make his blood sizzle, Beckett traced her fingers tips as lightly as possible over his back; sure enough, he shuddered, making her chuckle lowly.

'A little ticklish are we?' she murmured, bringing her hands up to the back of his neck to pull him in for a hot, desperate kiss that showed him just how much she wanted him.

Castle knew this body now like his own; starting at her throat he pressed the pad of his index finger against her jaw and followed the line of her body with it all the way down to her navel.

'Dangerous, Kate, very dangerous, considering I know your weaknesses too. The question is, which one will I start with?'

* * *

R&R&Enjoy!


	5. Jump: A Seduction II

Beckett let out a little gasp at Castle's touch on her body. Damn him and his trickiness, she thought fleetingly; the notion was gone as soon as it entered her brain. How could she think when those tricky hands were caressing her skin so intimately? He really did have beautiful hands, strong and steady and the skin was smooth as silk. She'd first noticed them when they'd danced together undercover at the charity gala looking for the home-invasion killer, and then spent that lonely night at home fantasizing in her sleep about where else on her body they might land.

But she was wide awake now.

He ran his palm over her flat stomach, up her sides to cup her breast; she was small enough there that she fit perfectly against him. A small crook of his thumb had heat lasering into her core as he brushed over her nipple, making it pebble hard. Her head spun as silver shimmers of excitement slithered down her back, but the languid feeling didn't last for long as his other hand crept up to give her other breast the same treatment, lowered his mouth to one. She didn't sigh but gasped, choking on her own breath at the sensation of it. Her back arched off of the bed, pressing against him, and she felt herself open in welcome to him. For a man so superficially childish on the surface he was an incredibly giving lover, which was part of the reason, she knew, he was the best she'd been with.

Castle wanted to close his eyes to better take in the feel and scent and taste of her, but for now he kept them locked on his beautiful Kate, sweet and romantic under that cop-shell. Though the blood ached in his veins, his loins, he wouldn't be selfish with her. She was his everything, which is exactly what he would give her. He felt her fingers twisted through his hair as he used his mouth on her breasts, felt that wicked heat from between her thighs press against him. He knew if he wanted to, he cold stay right here until she begged for them to be joined, but it was rather silly when there was so much more fun to be had.

Sliding his mouth away from her skin, he traced a circled with the tip of his index finger around the edges of her face.

'What will make Miss Kate feel better?' he murmured coyly, loving how her eyes sizzled at him. 'What is it she wants from me?'

He lowered his lips to the curve of her neck, one of his favourite places on her body - a tantalizing bend most men didn't realize was so delicious - and heard her murmur in his ear, 'I think you already know Mister Smart Mouth.'

Castle's smile was feral as he slid his hands down her arms to her palms, then lifted to place her hands around the spindles of the headboard. 'You better hang on for this.'

He kissed her mouth in lingering, sticky pecks before he moved farther and father down until he was at the bend of her body where her leg joined her torso. Now he moved sideways until he found the source of the heat, and felt himself harden even further when heard her strangled moan of delight.

Beckett felt everything in her body go tight, then dissolve at the feel of his mouth on her. She clenched the rails of the headboard as her hips threatened to buck, but were immobilized by his hands; they kept her in place so rather than moving away, she moved against him. Everything was heightened, every flicker and pass he made on her pulled every decadent delight into the centre of her chest until it burst through her. He heard her sob his name once; it was all he needed.

Castle moved his mouth over her leg, up her body before he cupped her hips to lift them and sank himself inside her. He watched her eyes glaze over in delight, then slam shut in reflex as she matched every stroke he gave her; the orgasm galloped through her, wracking her body until she trembled for him before going limp in his arms. Keeping his pace steady, he watched her climb again and this time when she flew over that ragged peak of ecstacy, he went with her.

Spent, satisfied, he nuzzled his cheek against the pillow with his mouth a whisper from her ear. 'So? Am I forgiven?'

'Apology most definitely accepted.' Beckett stroked her fingers down his hair to his shoulders, pressed her lips there for a few seconds. 'Have you told your mother?'

'Hmm?'

'Have you told you mom we're getting married?'

'No. I want to surprise her to. I mean,' Castle shifted so he fold his hands just below her breasts, rested his chin there, 'she's knows we're getting married since I had to ask for the ring a couple of months ago, so-'

'Hold on. A couple of months ago? How long is a couple of months?'

'The Monday after we all got back from Esposito's bachelor party weekend in Vegas. I was going to ask you the night Alexis had to leave but it just didn't feel right.'

Beckett pursed her lips to hide the smile. 'You chickened out, didn't you.'

'More than once and I have no shame in admitting it. I wanted it to be just right with you.'

'And using the line 'I could go for some sex and candy' on me before tackling me to the bed was your idea of a romantic proposal?'

'Yes.' Now he sat up, not to put distance between them but so he could find the duvet and sheets, wrap them around himself and his love. 'I did the over the top romance thing once and look how that turned out. With you, I've learned something very very important. Honesty and simplicity work to my advantage.'

'It doesn't mean a girl doesn't want a little romance, Castle.'

'Oh not to worry. We'll have all the fireworks you can handle the night of our wedding.'

'So how are we going to plan this?' Beckett clutched the edge of the Egyptian cotton sheets up around her shoulders, suddenly feeling a little chilly; the air had cooled the sweat of passion on her skin. 'There's all that wedding stuff to do, and if you think I'm hiring a planner-'

'I've done the over-the-top catered and planned to a fault wedding and I've done it with no taste and class at all. So I was thinking what if we did gourmet barbecue?'

'You mean like forty dollar burgers and stuff like that? Kobe beef burgers, truffle fries, lobster rolls, that kind of thing?'

Castle nodded eagerly, then went for the lynch-pin. 'And we can ask Meredeth to make us a Heart of Chelios cake.'

'Oh you do know your audience,' Beckett laughed, scooting closer to tap his nose. 'Very tricky indeed. And if we're going to be doing a beach wedding, we could all wearing swimwear. The girls can wear bikinis and the guys can wear Speedos. Kidding,' she added at his look of horror. 'Maybe we can all wear sundresses and that. The boys can wear Ray-Bans.'

'At sunset. Our beachfront looks spectacular around six o'clock. We can call in a favour from Judge Markaway to officiate, get Maureen to do the flowers.'

'Purple and peach and white hyacinths. They were my mom's favourites.' Beckett smiled. 'Hey. You know what?'

'What?'

'I love you.'

'Love you too.'

* * *

R&R&Enjoy.


	6. Jump: A Speculation

_Hello Caskett lovers! So this is the only time I'll do this, but today, Oct 30 is my birthday and as a birthday wish I'd like everyone, or as many of you as possible, who've added this one to your favourite or story alert lists to leave a review please! The feedback really does help! Enjoy!_

* * *

'Kate?'

'Yeah?'

'What do you think, the red or the blue?'

Beckett sat on the edge of the changing room bench, saw Lanie showing off a maternity sweater in cinnamon heart red. Her belly had really started to pop out and the soft fabric covering it made the bump look like a fuzzy red gumball. 'Oh, yes, definitely the red. It's very Christmas-y. But will you be able to wear that in three weeks?'

'It's a size too large for what I need so I'm guessing it will be perfect by our Christmas dinner. What do you think, Mere?'

The writer and new wife had appeared from the front of the store with some adorable looking pjs and nodded her agreement. 'Red all the way. Make's the bump look like an ornament for the tree. Here try these.' Meredeth passed Lanie the winter sleepwear. 'I know they're more mommy than hot mama, but from what I've learned and researched, that won't make a difference to you or Dave when those second trimester hormones really kick in.'

Lanie snickered then went back into the dressing room to try them on for fit, leaving Meredeth in the lounge area of the maternity store with Beckett. Her round Scandanavian face was rosy and her blue eyes were dancing merrily as she folded up the clothes Lanie had decided to purchase.

'Who says baby mamas can't be styling? Of course, if we were in Hawai'i she could wear awesome floral dresses all the time and be all summer-y and cool, instead of protecting herself against the slush and shit of Eastern Seaboard Christmastime, huh?'

'And we could be on the beach sipping mai tais after your delicious Christmas dinner of roast pig with sweet potatoes and roasted fish, and pineapple tarte tatin.'

'Oh that sounds good. I may have to put that in the book.'

'Book?'

'I'm in the R&D stage of a cook-book.'

'No shit!' Beckett turned to face Meredeth; though fiction and graphic novels put food on her table, Meredeth was one hell of a chef and had become the hostess for them on December twenty-sixth for their group of friends' Christmas together. 'What finally made you decide to do it?'

'I was actually thinking about it after Gil and Robina got together, and after Ryan stayed pro-veggie when Dell was born. Both their partners are meat-eaters which has to present some interesting conundrums so I'm working on some things. It's still very preliminary, I haven't even gotten an official offer from the how-to division of Double Diamond.'

'You're not doing any more _Lady Hawk_ books right now?'

'No. After the miniseries and the wedding, I need a break. Maybe not a break, per se, but a change of pace.'

The bell to the front of the shop rang, and Beckett watched, fascinated as the level headed Meredeth visibly went gooey when she looked into the showroom of the boutique; the expression changed again when she saw the newlywed's jaw drop in shock. Meredeth leaped up, giggling uncontrollably. A few seconds later, Beckett saw why.

'Baby, what did you do? I thought you were just getting it buzzed a little!' Meredeth laughed, greeting Esposito and running her hands over his now completely shaved scalp; his eyebrows were now the most hair he had on his head. 'It's all gone!'

'I figured with winter coming it'd make things a little easier.' He wrapped his arms around her waist, pecked her lips. 'You like?'

'It's very hot. Makes you look like one of the marines in _Jarhead_.'

Esposito grinned, glanced over to see Dave standing with his hands in the pockets of his winter coat. 'See dude? I told you she'd dig it.'

'If I did that, Lanie would beat my ass. She likes teasing me about my hair.' Dave fidgeted a little; he wasn't about to tell them just why Lanie liked his flowing black locks. 'If you ladies are almost done, we snagged a spot for lunch not too far from here on Thirty-Seventh and Broadway. Mexican food, good stuff, all homemade.'

'Oh yum. Why don't you and baldy here head on up, make sure we don't lose it?' Meredeth reached up, gave Esposito's head a little scrub. 'Maybe you can pick up some turtle wax for my hubby. Love you,' she added, when he poked her in the ribs.

'Love you too.'

When the men departed, Meredeth shook her head once more, sat back down to wait for Lanie to finish trying on clothes.

'Mere, how do you deal with it?' Beckett asked, rather abruptly.

'With what?'

'You're married to a cop. How do you handle that?'

Meredeth blinked slowly, like Beckett was speaking to her in Swahili. 'Because I love him. I fell for the man, and the man is a cop. I know that there's times when things don't go as smoothly as we both want them to with his job and the hours can make for some broken or changed plans but at the end of the day, he comes home, puts his arms around me and tells me _te amo_, baby, and I remember that it's part of the deal too.'

Beckett had never heard a cop's wife speak so honestly about her relationship and mean it. Meredeth and Esposito's solid and loving relationship, despite what many people thought, had many factors that could have worked against them. For one, the fact that Meredeth had had night terrors - dealing with something so stressful in a new relationship would have sent most men running for the hills. But Esposito had run to her side for comfort and strength when she'd had an 'episode' as she'd called them, and he'd ground his teeth in frustration when he'd watched her go through hypnotherapy to eradicate them for good.

And of course there had been when Esposito was shot while being part of the team to take down the notorious Picasso killer. It was one of those moments in relationships that either galvanized a couple or tore them apart, and Meredeth had stuck with him like ugly on an ape. It had been little wonder to any of them that while Meredeth had gone to Japan he'd clocked as many overtime hours as possible for the bread to buy her Tiffany's engagement ring.

He'd always been the confirmed bachelor, much like Castle in that respect, flirting when it suited and sometimes when it didn't, and yet Esposito had stepped up, become a good boyfriend and now a good husband. Would her own fiance be like that?

'Kate?'

'Sorry, just thinking.'

'You've been awfully spacey today. Everything alright?'

'Well...' Beckett nearly cracked then and there; it was a weird compulsion but being around both Honey-Milk Ryan and Meredeth Esposito made it impossible to tell a lie. Before she could spill the beans, the door to the dressing room opened and Lanie came out, her bump already starting to make her walk with her toes turned out.

'Did I hear the boys get here?'

'Been and gone, they're holding our table for lunch over on Broadway. Mexican food.'

'Sweet deal. I'll pay for these and we'll roll.'

As they followed Lanie up to the register, Meredeth gave Beckett one more careful look. 'You sure you're okay? Nothing you want to share?'

'No, I'm good,' Beckett reassure her friend. _Okay,_ she thought,_ nearly impossible._

* * *

R&R&Enjoy!


	7. Jump: A Visitation

It was December fourteenth. Beckett and Castle had been engaged for exactly two months and they hadn't told a soul, save for Alexis. They thought about giving in and telling Martha but the night they'd decided to do so she'd taken them out to dinner to celebrate her own news - the lead role in the stage adaptation of _Waking Ned Devine_, which was set to become one of the best comedies of the stage since _The Producers_ and so she would be more than plenty occupied with rehearsals for the months leading up to the wedding. Beckett knew from experience that her future mother-in-law - and wasn't _that_ quite the notion to wrap her head around - wouldn't notice a military parade going through the loft unless the grand marshal was shouting 'places, everyone'; the secret wold remain a secret.

'You stare at that file any harder, boss and I'm going to start thinking you're hiding a girl's equivalent of a dirty magazine inside.'

The only part of Beckett that moved were her eyes, which roamed up to Ryan watching her intently from his desk, turquoise eyes glistening with amusement. Because theirs faced each other, it was impossible to guess he was looking anywhere else.. 'Can I help you, Detective?'

'Lab results on our vic. You called it. Preston Whitman was indeed riding the white horse, but in a withdrawal phase at the time of his death.'

'Which means his dealer was probably telling the truth.'

'Hey, even the pushers have their moments of usefulness.' Picking up his stress egg, Ryan rolled in his palms. 'You seem edgy. Anything you want to share with the class?'

Esposito heard the tail of the conversation as he grabbed his coat off the back of his chair, buttoned it before he tugged his knit watch-cap over his smooth pate. 'It's the fourteenth right? Alexis gets home tonight, it's why Castle wasn't here today. He's getting something ready for his little birdie coming back to the nest.'

'You know,' Beckett commented casually as Esposito walked past her desk to leave for the day, 'I just bet that when you and Meredeth start making babies, you're going to wind up with nothing but daughters and they're all going to fall in love with men just like Castle. Or worse, just like you.'

'No cookies tomorrow for you.'

Beckett wrinkled her nose in a smile. 'I'll survive. Enjoy your night, Javier.'

'Thanks, Kate.'

Ryan pouted a little. 'He gets to go home, why don't I?'

'Because your wife's working nights, Dell is with your parents and you don't wanna go home alone,' Beckett reminded him, using his own words verbatum as to why he would be staying two hours past end of shift on overtime. The trick worked as Ryan muttered a little, held out his hand for the files. 'Get outta here, you crazy kid.'

Ryan was only two years older than her, but he called Detective Molina in Robbery 'kid', a man three days his junior so Beckett took no offense to it. Instead she tossed him the file, swung her coat to her shoulders. 'Oh, and like any woman, I don't need dirty magazines. A good imagination is enough.'

With a saucy laugh Beckett strolled for the elevator; the moment the doors closed she dialed Castle's cell. Because she was alone, she pulled her chain from under her blouse and fiddled with the ring. 'I'm on my way to the garage, you ready?

'Almost. I'm just finishing up at the loft.'

'Castle!'

On the other end of the phone, Castle's voice was cheerfully defensive. 'Trust me, Detective, you will forgive me when you see what I've got set up.'

'Fine. Be downstairs waiting for me. I mean it. I better see you chatting with the doorman.'

'Bossy yet compromising. You'll make a great wife.'

* * *

'What flight number is hers again?'

'She's on KLM 0103 from Rotterdam.'

'Why's she coming from the Netherlands?'

Castle gave Beckett's shoulder a squeeze. 'She and a few friends went to Amsterdam after exams. Just hope if she went to the Hotel Nederlander, she mentioned my name for excellent room service.'

'She probably stayed with other non-money bags friends in a hostel.'

'Oh, Katie, Katie, Katie.' Castle kissed her cheek. 'It's not a B&B, it's a cabaret, of the clothing-optional sort.'

'Then room service is-'

'A very creative metaphor. Look, look! There she is!'

Beckett's pondering of how he could go from completely horny-teenager to excited daddy in the space of a single sentence was cut short when she saw Alexis. Her red hair was in Heidi-braids under a toque in virulent yellow purple and orange. She carried a leather mailman's bag over her shoulder along with her purse and tugged her suitcase along behind her. She looked the same, like Alexis, and yet there was a worldliness about her now. It was in the eyes; having been nineteen once and an exchange student as well, Beckett had seen the look in the ones she saw in the mirror.

She was still a Castle alright, though, as she reached the end of the ramp and leaped into her father's arms, letting her suitcase clatter to the floor. 'Dad!'

'How's my little girl?'

'Exhausted. I left Rotterdam at seven this morning local time, and our layover in Iceland was an hour longer because they found loose belts in one of the engines when they did the inspection.'

'I'd rather have you later than in pieces in the Atlantic.'

Alexis grinned, then turned to Beckett . 'I have so many stories for you!'

'None for me?' Castle looked a little put out.

'Something tells me that if you heard any of them you'd lock her in her room,' Beckett smiled as she gave Alexis a warm embrace. 'Am I right?'

'No.' But Alexis did pink in the cheeks a little. 'Maybe. Anyways, you guys are the ones with the story! Fill me in!'

They loaded Alexis' luggage in the trunk of the Crown Vic, and Alexis chattered like a monkey the entire ride back to the loft as they filled her in on the details they'd decided on - the Friday night of the July Fourth holiday weekend, they would be married right on the beach of their Hamptons house with Alexis being the only wedding party.

'Mostly, Lex, we're thinking of Lanie and Dave. They hadn't exactly planned to have a baby and-'

'You feel like concentrating on your own happiness when your friend is going through a life-changing event would be a be

'Smart girl.' Beckett flashed her a grin in the review mirror. However flight he appeared to be, Castle had raised a very perceptive young woman.

'I'm studying to be a shrink, reading people is in the job description.'

Castle grinned as he twisted from the front seat. 'Now about those stories...'

'Dad, do you tell me everything about your private life?'

'No, but-'

'Do you think that's a good thing or a bad thing?'

'Okay, is this a pre-shrink shrink trick?'

'You tell me.'

When Alexis just blinked at him, Castle bit his fist in frustration. 'Dammit. Okay, just no inside jokes at the breakfast table, alright?'

* * *

R&R&Enjoy.


	8. Jump: A Conversation

'So, what do you think?'

'I think you shouldn't quit your day job. Pass the pepper.'

'So I shouldn't quit shadowing you?'

Beckett smiled at Castle over the bowl of mashed potatoes and the basket of fresh rolls. It was Christmas Eve dinner and in the past few times she'd spent it with Castle, it had once again become her favourite holiday. Castle insisted on doing the turkey and he'd actually proved to be a deft had at it, while Alexis was on veggies and Beckett, scourge of the New York City criminal element, had been manning the gravy detail three Christmases solid now. This year was even better, as Alexis had cracked open her Christmas gift from her roommate Jacqui - an honest to goodness bottle of Chateauneuf de Pape, the millennium AOC, which had Castle torn between delight in trying it and heartbreak in opening. They'd all sampled it and Beckett could see why her fiance raved about the stuff.

Now onto her third helping Beckett washed it down with tomato juice and wine as Alexis assaulted their ears with questions; an old friend of Martha's had given her a cruise from Christmas Eve to New Years as her gift so the coast was clear for wedding chat.

'So you're really not going to tell anyone?' Alexis ripped a roll in half, dragged it around a puddle of gravy. 'I'm sorry but a fiver says one of you is going to crack up. My money's on you, Dad.'

'Ah, there's the Castle genes, gambling on anything you can think of. Such a proud moment for me,' Castle said, toasting her with his tomato juice.

'And you really think they're going to pack appropriate clothes for a beach wedding without any hints?'

'Oh that part we will tell them about, just not what they think it is.'

'How?'

Beckett smiled as she pondered more sweet potatoes. They'd been roasted with garlic and red pepper flakes, and were irresistible. 'My birthday is June fourteenth and since Lanie's due the seventh, we're doing my fancy birthday party on the holiday weekend when everyone will have the time off and Lanie will have popped out the little gumball. At least, that's the line on the official press release.'

Apparently satisfied with this answer, Alexis popped the last of her gravy-soaked roll in her mouth, then popped out of her chair to begin clean-up, still firing off questions as they righted the mess of the kitchen. By the time it was done, Alexis was flaked out on the couch catching up on American TV - Castle had been carefully instructed via Skype that on pain of death she had to have season two of _Dallas, Lieutenant Eve_ stored and waiting for her viewing pleasure on Christmas night - leaving the two grown-ups to their own activities. All three knew what Alexis' game-plan was but never said a word.

With a discreetly locked bedroom door, Beckett skipped the music that they usually put on when they were alone, as that would have made things oh-so very awkward should Alexis wander upstairs without their knowledge.

'Are you sure you're cool with this?' Castle asked her as she undressed from the feet up; he always found that little quirk intriguing and had been tempted to include it in the third Nikki Heat book.

'She knows we have sex, you dummy. '

'I know that, but she doesn't need to _know_ about it, you know?'

Beckett pressed her lips together. There were so many comebacks she could have gone with but instead went straight for the jugular. 'What if it was the other way around, hm? What if Alexis had someone home and they were upstairs alone in her room?'

'Wouldn't happen. You'd be arresting my corpse for murdering him and then Alexis for killing me. That is, if you hadn't already done it yourself.'

'Castle, she's not going to stay a virgin forever. She's going to get married and have babies. Considering you're her father and you're you, you know that doesn't happen by burying a diamond in the cabbage patch.'

Castle looked like he'd taken a swallow of vinegar. 'Why are we discussing my daughter's sex life? Oh, God, I think I just threw up a little bit,' he said weakly, pressing a hand to his now-revolting stomach. 'No, Alexis doesn't do those things, not like you and I do. She's not interested in...touching,' he added on a shudder.

'Keep telling yourself that.'

'What did you say to your dad when he grilled you about boyfriends in college?'

'He was...very supportive about my independence,' Beckett replied at length. She didn't think it would be good for her argument to tell him that Jim Beckett hadn't spoken to her for nearly a week when he'd found out she'd had a very steamy fling with a construction worker named Dima in Moscow. 'The point is Castle, it's her body, her heart, which means it's her decisions.'

'Yes, but I'm the father, I should have some kind of say, right?'

'Castle, as someone was was once a teenage girl, listen to this.' She bent down so that she was eye-level with Castle, who was sitting on the end of the bed, looking a little horror-struck. To emphasize her point, she slapped her palms gently against his cheeks so he couldn't look away. 'The more you push her to tell you about things like having sex, the more she will pull away and not talk to you about other important stuff. And we don't want that, do we?'

'Nuh-uh.'

'Good, so let it drop.' Beckett gave him a kiss, hoping it would smooth the feathers the unexpected conversation had ruffled. 'I don't suppose you wanna-'

'No.'

'In that case, Snoopy and sandwiches it is.'

Leaving Castle to fret and stew in his own wild imagination, Beckett put on her Peanuts pyjamas and headed downstairs to the kitchen. As she passed through the living room, she saw Alexis turn around at the sound of footsteps, an arch look on her face. Pausing the TiVo, she followed the pretty detective into the kitchen, took a seat at the island.

'Not to be weird, but that was fast.'

Beckett blushed, shook her head. 'Not what you think, young lady. You really are your father's daughter tonight, aren't you?' She took out the platter of turkey, the rolls from the cupboard. 'Hungry?'

'I could go for ten o'clock turkey sandwich. So, what, you guys were just talking wedding stuff?'

Beckett smiled. 'Actually, about you and your being mature and considerate of turning a blind eye to your father and I spending some...alone time together. I did a silly thing and asked

'Let me guess, he threatened murder and then threw up a little.'

'You are on fire.'

'I know my dad.' Alexis went to the fridge, pulled out mayo and honey-mustard. 'Does he really think I'll stay a little girl forever?'

The tone with which the young woman spoke had even Beckett, who'd given Castle hell not five minutes before, raising an eyebrow. 'Is there something we should know about, though?'

'No. God, no! I've barely had any real boyfriends and school is really taking it out of me. Besides, when I do...that,' Alexis said, unable to use the S-word, even though the detective was obviously no prude, 'I want it to mean something. I want to be really in love. You know, like you and my dad are.'

* * *

R&R&Enjoy!


	9. Jump: A Resolution

_Hello everyone! Thanks for all the additions of story alerts on this fic! This chapter is for those of you who were expecting more than just the mashed potatoes to steam (ahem Airel119, looking at you), so enjoy with a cold drink nearby!_

* * *

'Happy New Year, Kate.'

Beckett felt the smooth caress of her fiance's palm against her side, buried her face in the pillow. 'No.'

'No?'

'Just no.'

Castle had to laugh; whenever his girl was hungover, she had the vocabulary of a stubborn two-year-old. 'So you won't be angry I'm taking the shower first?'

'Knock yourself out. No, wait.' Beckett lifted her aching head from the pillow, squinted at even the dim January light. 'We'll share one. That way you don't have to worry I'll fall down and smack my head on the tile.'

'Yeah, can't have one of New York's finest taking a tub to the noggin.'

Beckett nodded as softly as possible; she, both Ryans, both Espositos and Gil Mazzara had started the night drinking one of Meredeth's cocktail recipes: double-barreled brass monkeys, a lethal combination of dark and spiced rum, orange and fizzing grapefruit juice and pineapple schnapps. The first one had gone down smooth but by the middle of the second one, they'd all started feeling a little daffy. At the end of the fourth glass they were all but swinging from the rafters, at least, from what Beckett could remember. Alexis, thank goodness, hadn't been there this year with her camera and pointing and laughing while they relived the horrors that had been blacked out from alcohol.

Beckett swayed a little in front of the shower as Castle twisted the faucets and a few seconds later, a glorious rain of steaming water was rolling over her head and down her back. She held onto the shower bar and whimpered a little.

'Oh thank you Jesus.' The hot liquid sluicing over her skin felt like heaven, and was toning down the Keebler elves banging away on anvils in her skull; now she understood what Esposito meant when he said he had a pots-and-pans headache. Still a little unsteady on her feet, she tipped her head to lean against Castle, a little more oomph in it than she thought because she felt him shift and brace for her weight.

'Steady as she goes, Lieutenant.'

'Sorry. Now just imagine if I'd been in here alone.'

'Then we couldn't do this.'

Castle put his hands on her shoulders to keep her in place, lowered his mouth to hers. His lips were gentle, tender even, the way he kissed her when he thought she needed cheering up. She wrapped her arms around his waist as she kissed him back, putting a little more into it now that she was awake on her feet.

'Mm, as much fun as that would be, let's wait until we're out of the shower, okay?'

'Deal.'

They lathered and rinsed and repeated for each others' bodies, a task in Beckett's mind always made better when there was romance. It was no longer just about scrubbing away the layer of sleep-oil the body produced, it was about pampering and teasing and preparing it. Even better was the towel down; when Castle shut off the water, he wrapped the length of cashmere - no mere terrycloth for him - around her shoulders, his firm strong hands made her blood sizzle as he rubbed the soft fabric against her body to soak up the last little droplets beading on her skin. Her hair she wrung out herself, leaving it in damp ropes against the back of her neck while she repeated the process on him.

Awake now, with only the smallest of headaches and a heavy case of dry-mouth, Beckett rubbed the towel on the top of his head, fluffing out the hair there before wrapping it around his waist. She combed her fingers to take the longest strands off of his face, stretched to her tiptoes to kiss him. It was easy to forget just how big a man Richard Castle was. Thankfully he knew her as she knew him, and bent slightly at the waist to help compensate, his hands moving over her back to keep her close.

'Deal's a deal, right?' he asked her in a murmur, his mouth trailing from her lips to her jawline.

'Right.'

It was all the motivation Castle needed. His hands went from her back to her bottom and he boosted her up, her long legs wrapping around his waist as he carried her the short distance to their bed. He turned so that when they tumbled, she was looking down at him, her damp hair tracing over his drying chest and giving him goosebumps. A few tugs and the cashmere towel landed somewhere by the laundry hamper, leaving his beautiful Beckett naked as a nymph above him. His hand moved up to cover her breast, soft and fragrant, and he watched her eyes go dark and wide when he grazed the back of his knuckles over the centre, making the nipple harden and peak. The blood began to roar in his veins when he rose up slightly to replaced his fingers with his mouth and she let out a low throaty sound.

Beckett felt him grow beneath the towel, and lifting her hips up ever so slightly, whipped the towel off and tossed it in the general direction he'd sent hers. Because her legs were still around his hips, she rolled so he was on top of her. Though no one could accuse them of being in a sexual rut, it was her favourite way of making love with him. Something about being underneath him like this had an element of total surrender to it. Her hands raced over his skin, up the back of his neck as he continued to suckle at her, then moved to the other breast, making shock-waves of pleasure radiate out from her centre. Her hips arched into his in response, and Beckett heard him groan.

'Such a tease,' he sighed.

'And you love me.'

'Yes I do.'

Castle ran his hand over her thighs, felt her dampen against him, so he moved ever so slightly to let his fingertips stroke up the inside of her leg, find the source of that heat. Her gasp when he found her, then was inside her, was like fine wine swimming in his head. Her head lolled from side to side as if in protestation that she couldn't take it anymore, so he brushed his thumb over the trigger there, and reveled in the marvel of her as the orgasm eclipsed everything but the ability to feel.

'Now, Rich.'

It was a plea, not a demand, and because he couldn't resist bowing to her every whim when she looked like this, pure and powerful, he moved so he rested against her again. Taking her wrist, he placed a kiss to her palm and lowered her hand between them so she could help guide him in.

Beckett groaned as she felt him slide inside her, moved with him. He was a big man, and here was no exception to the rest of his physique, so when it was slow and sweet and steady like this, it felt even bigger. She dug her fingernails into the flesh of his back to keep him close, murmuring in his ear how good he made her feel. Her breath began to tangle in her throat as the spring wound tighter and tighter inside until she was sighing out his name on a shudder. He tensed and trembled under her touch, and it wasn't long before he followed her into oblivion.

She stroked her hands through his hair, loving the whistling-teakettle sound his breath made against her neck. It made her think of three little words - _well done, girl_.

'Castle? I have my New Years resolution.'

'Oh?'

'Lots more post-shower sex.'

* * *

R&R&Enjoy.


	10. Jump: A Caution

Winter was never a fun time to be working in Homicide, and while some claimed the worst for murder cops was Hallowe'en, Beckett had seen and heard enough to know that the weeks leading to Valentine's day were equally hellacious. Lovers' quarrels, marital spats that could usually be resolved with a little space often ended badly thanks to freezing temperatures and sub-zero wind chills. Even with the near-midday sun shining brightly couldn't raise the mood.

To make the cold even more irritating, Castle was following her into a scene and doing nothing but bitching about the cold.

'I know the phrase is 'cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey', but I think the nose off this Castle is a close second. I'm certain this is what hell freezing over feels like.'

Because it was just the two of them, Beckett gave a little. 'Don't you mean hell _Hoth_ no fury?'

'I knew there was a reason I fell in love with you and it's not because you come with handcuffs.'

Beckett only rolled her eyes, and adjusted her red and white tam to cover the tips of her ears. They badged the uniforms standing guard, walked through the cavernous first floor of the building to where their dead-man lay on a plastic dropsheet. Perlmutter was their ME today, looking as miserable as Castle felt; his nose was bright as Beckett's cherry-red pea-coat as he processed the body.

'Victim is Evan Tam, about thirty to thirty-five years in age, blunt force trauma with a very heavy, possibly jagged device to the skull above the left ear. Eh-choo!' He let out a ghastly sneeze that made Castle jump back when he made no move to cover. 'Damn cold is going through the dead house like the friggin' plague. Anyways, foreman said that the site was open about nine this morning, since its an inside job, har-har, they seal the building at night and when he and his boys came in to start preparing the dry-wall, they found Charlie Chan here.'

'Charlie Chan?' Castle asked incredulously as Perlmutter passed Beckett the victim's wallet.

' Jin-Yu Tam, Western name Evan, age thirty two resides four-forty-one East Twenty-Seventh Street, apartment 6F,' she read, ignoring her phone merrily singing _Fought the Law _at her; Castle on the other hand wasn't so able to tune it out.

'You going to answer that?'

'It's Esposito, I told him to call if they caught anything related or possibly related to one of other the choke-and-stabs.'

Castle jammed his gloved hands in his pockets, jumped up and down on the spot before following her back to the. 'So now what, fearless leader?'

'It's obvious it's a body dump, which means the evidence we need isn't going to be here, so we're going back to the station to do a standard run on Evan Tam, see if we can hit a ping there. Meanwhile, Perlmutter's going to-'

She was cut off when her phone was ringing again, this time with Ryan's _Kiss My Irish Ass_. 'Ugh, boys, Mom has to work too, you know. Thank you,' she said when the call went to voicemail. The ringing had no sooner stopped than Castle's phone started up with _Friends in Low Places_. 'You going to answer yours?'

'It's also Esposito. Man, you just don't give up do you?' he said in cheerful discontent; the friendly tone dropped instantly as he grabbed Beckett by the bicep to hold her in place. 'Oh shit. Is she okay? What about- okay, okay, yeah, no I'll tell her, we'll figure it out. We'll see you there.'

Beckett felt the same kind of panic she'd felt at her mother's crime scene when she saw the look on Castle's face. 'What is it?'

'Lanie was attacked at the boys' crime scene ten minutes ago. She took a hard fall, she's okay and so's the baby,' he added hastily when what little colour was in her cheeks drained away entirely, 'but they're taking her to Saint Vincent's just in case.' He paused. 'Dave and his partner Jayla were the responding paramedics.'

'Oh Christ.' Without a moment's debate, Beckett turned on her well-dressed heel and stalked over to where Perlmutter was supervising the loading of the body onto the stretcher. 'Doctor Perlmutter, I need a rush on this body, please.'

'Lanie will have to do it because I'm going home,' he complained, stuffing his field equipment back in his bag. 'Shoulda listened to the wife but there's nothing more that woman loves than proving me wrong.'

Castle took a moment for incredulity. 'You're married?'

'Lanie is on her way to the hospital, Sidney,' Beckett said, bringing the conversation back on track; she saw her rare use of his first name paid off when his eyes went round, then narrowed. 'She was attacked while processing a body for Ryan and Esposito, and took a hard fall.'

Perlmutter pursed his lips, giving the impression of a pensive goat. 'I'll make some calls, get everything sorted out, and for God sakes call me when you know something.'

Castle nodded, waited until the man was out of earshot, which given that they were in an echoing empty building was when he'd actually gone out to the van. 'Who knew, the lizard king has a heart.'

'Some people like that acidic personality. Others prefer goofy, charming and occasionally insightful.' She knew he was trying to keep her from worrying about Lanie so she could concentrate on the scene and finish her job there, but the woman was Beckett's best friend; of course her mind wouldn't be one hundred percent focused with this new development.

Castle saw her quieten too, and gave her hand a little squeeze. 'Esposito's a straight shooter, you know that.'

'I know. But she's so excited, finally, about the baby, to think it might get taken away...' Beckett's heart did a nasty hiccup at the thought. No, she ordered herself, put it away. 'We've got people to see and things to do before we can worry about Lanie The moment we clock out, we're stopping at Saint Vincent's.'

'So long as it's via Boomerang.'

* * *

Between their own case and the little side-show Ryan put on of interrogating Leroy Miguel, the mope who'd used Lanie as a tackling dummy while trying to flee the scene, Beckett and Castle didn't arrive at the hospital until nearly seven. They were directed to her room, and saw her propped up in bed, Meredeth beside her, the two of them giggling over something on Meredeth's DVD player.

'Knock, knock,' Beckett said from the doorway, making both women look up. Meredeth's round face brightened when she saw the Beckett-Castle combo.

'Oh, good, this means I can pee.'

She scrambled up, leaving Lanie protesting to her vapour trail she didn't have to hold it in so she wouldn't be alone, before turning her attention back to her friend. 'Hey girl.'

'Hello yourself. You okay, like for sure okay?'

'Yes. Harvey said since I fell on mostly on my ass, the baby's just fine. And look,' Lanie pointed proudly to the giraffe and the bear wearing scrubs on her bedside table, 'my favourite two-headed monster brought me toys.'

'Excuse me.'

Castle glanced over, saw Honey-Milk with an apologetic look. 'I have to do a quick pelvic exam just to make sure nothing is dilated or contracting. Standard procedure, Lanie.'

While they waited in the hallway, Beckett breathed deeply, shuddered it out. 'She's okay.'

* * *

R&R&Enjoy!


	11. Jump: An Elation

As Honey-Milk finished her check-up on Lanie, Beckett waited with Castle in the hallway. She was trying to wrap her head around Lanie being in the room across the hall and the possible chance of her having a problem with the baby. Despite reassurances from Dave and the doctors, Beckett was just enough of a fatalist thanks to personal tragedy to think clearly right now.

'Richard,' she said softly, 'I'm telling Lanie.'

'What? No, no, that's a violation of our agreement, an agreement I believe was your brainchild.'

'Funny you should use that word because my best friend could have lost her baby today, a baby it took her nearly four months to fall in love with since she was so damn scared about becoming a mother. You really think she deserves to have me lying to her anymore?'

Castle dragged his hand across his face in frustration. 'I know what you mean.' He had so been looking forward to the looks on their faces when they learned that the holiday weekend in the Hamptons was also their wedding, and knew this was one of those crossroads in his life with Beckett where compromise wasn't optional, it was a necessity. 'But we can still get the drop on them. We just don't tell them when.'

'Yes.'

'Ryan and Esposito are going to give me such shit over holding out on them. Well, maybe not Esposito since he kept his proposal to Meredeth pretty quiet for nearly six weeks, but Ryan for sure. That guy needs his lips glued together some days, especially when-'

Castle glued his own lips shut when Honey-Milk came out, hands in her pockets. 'She's physically fine, but still shaky. Dave's not going to be here for another hour at least, not with the way things picked up this afternoon, so Meredeth put off her whole afternoon of meetings to stay with her.'

Beckett sent Castle a meaningful look, and was relieved when he nodded seriously. 'I'm here for whatever she needs. Tissues, beverages, all the spoons she needs for biting on.'

'She's still gotta cook the little gumball until at least May thirtieth so I'd hold off on those spoons just yet.' Honey-Milk smiled, checked her watch. 'And it is time for me to get Dell from the pre-school and head home to my nervous wreck of a husband. Poor guy is just beside himself over this, but I'm sure I can cheer him up,' she said with a little wink before heading out across the sky-walk to the pediatric nurses' station.

Outside Lanie's room, Beckett plucked at Castle's coat lapels. I know you want to give her the little present we picked up but I seriously need some girl time with her.'

'I need the little boys' room anyways.'

Beckett kissed him, then went into the room where Lanie was giggling again at the DVD player. 'What are you watching?'

'_The Producers_, the original sixty-eight version. It's Meredeth's favourite movie and she nearly took my head off when I told I'd never seen it.' Lanie pushed the pause button, set the little machine aside. 'You okay girl?'

'No, I'm not. Lanie, I need to tell you something and I don't want you to get mad at me.'

'No. The last time I made someone a promise like that, it didn't end well.'

'Okay, then try.'

'That I can do.'

Beckett took a bracing breath, then tugged out her chain with her ring on it for Lanie's inspection. 'He asked me to marry him.'

'Oh Katie!' Lanie leaned over her bed rail, grasped Kate's hand to inspect the ring. 'And that isn't some Jeweler's R Us ring, that's a family thing from the looks of it.'

'It was his grandmother's.'

'You've been holding out on me! When did this happen? How did he do it?'

'Well, that's where the yelling might come in. The night we had the dinner for you and Dave to celebrate the baby, we were getting ready for bed, just having a little pillow talk and out of nowhere he says, 'I want you to be my wife', and I said yes.'

Beckett held her breath, watched as Lanie sat up a little straight, rubbing her hand over the mound of her belly and wincing slightly when the baby kicked.

'That night, back in October? And you've been sitting on that egg through Christmas and New Years?'

'Yes. And I'm sorry I didn't tell you Lanie, but I...I didn't want you to think I was abandoning you. You're my best friend and you need my support.'

'So you missed out on how many months of being all girly with me and Meredeth and the rest of our little circle?' Lanie shook her head. Beckett's heart had definitely been in the right place, but holy Jesus, she really did need a kick in the ass every so often. 'Katie, a wedding is a once in a lifetime thing too. Pass me the phone.'

'Why?'

'Oh, no, you don't get to argue right now. Yes, this is Lanie Parrish in four-sixteen, can you have Nurse Jenny Ryan paged to my room please? I think she's picking up her son from the pre-school. Thanks.'

Meredeth came back in then, saw the look on her friends' faces and folded her arms across her chest. 'I know that look. Spill it.'

'Katie?'

'Spill what?'

Honey-Milk had appeared at the door way in her street-clothes, Dell on her hip adorably dressed in his snow-suits and mittens and her bags over her shoulder. She set the toddler down, who wobbled over to Meredeth, hugging her around the knees.

'Mah-wee. Up?'

'Sure thing, big guy.'

Meredeth put Dell on her hip the same way Honey-Milk had and tickled his nose, making him giggle joyfully. 'So, what's this news, Kate?'

'I'm getting married.' Beckett held up the ring on her chain, and as anticipated before they could break out the happy-noise, Lanie cleared her throat, so she added on, 'He asked me back in October but I didn't want to say anything to take away from Lanie's baby.'

'Take away from it, hell no!' Meredeth balanced Dell on her side, leaned over to give Beckett a python squeeze of a hug. 'You're getting married! Now we've got two things to celebrate!'

'Yeah, I mean, what, were you just going to have us show up one night for dinner at the loft and be like, oh by the way, welcome to our wedding?' Honey-Milk added for good measure.

Beckett swallowed; Honey-Milk had no idea just how close she'd come to hitting the nail on the head, but years of police training were saving her ass right now. 'A little, but honestly, I wanted Lanie to be front and centre.'

'Lanie!' Dell slapped his mittened hands together. 'Lanie!'

'A noble gesture, but seriously, Kate, you need to learn to take the spotlight for yourself a little,' Meredeth said, passing Dell back to his mouth, then stuffing her hands in her back pockets. 'I get that being a murder cop and all your work takes you behind the scenes a little, but not something like this.'

'Well, actually, I'm kinda glad I told you, because there is one thing I need to ask you Meredeth.'

'Intrigue? I'm all ears.'

'Can you make a Heart of Chelios for the wedding cake?'

* * *

R&R&Enjoy.


	12. Jump: A Reflection

It was ski weekend for Valentine's and the day couldn't have been more magical. The Crater Lake Alpine and Nordic Ski Lodge outside Lake Placid looked like something from a fairy-tale with its rustic buildings and mountainous backdrop. The six of them - herself and Castle, Ryan and Honey-Milk, and Dave and Lanie - had gone in together on a private chalet that was part of a quad-plex smack-dab between the nordic and the alpine pro-shops. As Ryan had a slight phobia of ski lifts and Lanie couldn't risk falling, the two of them had hit the cross-country trails while the remaining four had hit the slopes. Beckett didn't consider herself any kind of skier, not like Honey-Milk, who'd competed with her college's team at nationals, but she could hold her own; at the very least she knew she wouldn't smoke a tree like something from a Tex Avery cartoon.

Their private ski lesson with Wilhelm, the Austrian pro, had certainly been entertaining between Castle on his ass for most of it and Dave able to only make left hand turns; Honey-Milk had even started speaking a little German with the dude, making Wilhelm drool a little. By the time they'd gotten to the top of their practice slope with their ski instructor both Dave and Castle were looking a little goggly-eyed at the way the pretty nurse sounded like a Swiss milkmaid. It made Beckett roll her eyes as she slipped off the lift chair and clamped her ski boots into the rear snap-locks.

'What is it about guys drooling over a woman speaking in a foreign language?' she pondered in a hopefully-casual tone as Wilhelm and Honey-Milk raced to the bottom, leaving the three newbies at the top.

'Two words, make of it what you will.' Castle gave her a lascivious grin. 'Talented mouth.'

'Oh, that's gross, even for you.'

'Dave?'

The handsome paramedic, who looked very natty in green and white ski-wear, pulled his goggles down over his eyes. 'It's nasty but it's true and most of the time it works both ways. Lanie gets all fluttery when I speak in Italiar, and vice versa when she speaks a little Spanish. See ya at the bottom.' Dave turned so he was going straight downhill, leaving the lovebirds in peace.

'I speak Russian, you know,' Beckett pouted a little, watching for the signal from Wilhelm for her to start after Dave.

'Oh, believe me Detective, I know.' Castle crab-stepped over to his fiancee, kissed her lips lightly. 'I was having a very...hard...time trying to keep it together when you came into the mobster poker game telling me I was barely even a man.'

She remembered the moment well, and had filed away the priceless look on his face as one for the greatest hits reel of their relationship. Turning up her inner Bond-girl, Beckett sunk her teeth into her consonants and spoke with the same accent she'd used that night. 'Vell den, perhaps t'night ve ken play Kold Var spies, yes? And you know de KGB, ve don teek no for answer.'

'Say 'get moose and squirrel' for me and you've got a date.'

Beckett's laugh was quick and bright, bubbly as champagne. 'God I love you.'

Castle's only response was to grin and push himself down the hill on his skis; he made it about halfway down before he was on his ass for what Beckett measured to be the forty-second time already. He was going to be sore tonight, and hopefully, she thought with the taste of his lips still on hers, for reasons other than skiing.

* * *

After the day on the slopes was concluded, they'd gone back to the chalet; a quick look in the fridge saw that they would need to make a quick trip into town for the necessary items for dinner, as they'd only been able to bring enough for dinner the night before and that morning's breakfast with them. Lanie and Dave had opted to stay behind so she could rest, though everyone knew they were probably wanting a little alone time of the naked kind.

Beckett just prayed they were discreet enough to use their own room or the shower and not chance being walked in on by the rest of them.

When they got back from their little market jaunt, much to everyone's collective relief Lanie and Dave were on the couch, wrapped in very cozy looking robes over their comfies, Dave with beer and Lanie with ice-cold cider in a wine glass. Her feet were in his lap as he rubbed them gently, and just looked so blissed out as they watched some action movie on the big-screen by the fire place, Beckett had to wonder if they didn't fit in a two-for.

'Hey mama!' Castle grinned as he brought in the cloth grocery sacks. 'Whatcha doing?'

'Watching Jason Statham take a bunch of chuckle-heads to task.' Lanie took her feet off Dave's lap, sat up to watch the returning party. 'Anything I can help with?'

'If you like, you can slice mushrooms for roasting, from a seated up-right position, of course,' Ryan said with a wink. 'Can't put that gumball to work too soon.'

Beckett smiled as she hung up her coat. Now that the secret was out, she couldn't help but ask herself those questions - would she and Castle have babies together? He was by no means an old man, he was barely forty, but he'd also been a young father. Would he want more? Could he even have them anymore? Of course he could, she thought with a shake of her head, he'd suited up the first time they'd been together and almost every time after that.

The other question of course being, would she even want them? How would she be a mother and a cop at the same time? Karpowski had done it, others had done, hell even Ryan balanced being a father and a cop in equal measure and his wife was a professional woman who worked shift work as well. Hell, Lanie was a medical examiner and Dave was a paramedic and they were finding a way to make it work too. Why couldn't she?

She watched through her lashes, pretending to concentrate on cleaning the eggplant for Ryan's roasted vegetable medley and felt Castle's strong, surprisingly comforting arms wrap around her waist.

'You're thinking too hard, Detective,' he murmured in her ear; Ryan had gone upstairs for a shower while Honey-Milk checked in with her in-laws on Dell, and Lanie and Dave had opted for a power-nap before dinner so there was no risk of being reprimanded from his girl for being too touchy. 'What has got you looking like you're trying to catch a killer?'

'Just watching Lanie, thinking about her and Dave.'

'You mean, thinking about you and I making a little Cas-Beck.'

'It freaks me out. I've seen how temperamental Lanie's gotten from the hormones and as a cop-'

'As a cop you're human, too, entitled to start a family. I think it'd be a horrible thing to waste all that beauty and brains and heart by not combining it with yours.'

Beckett gave a low chuckle, elbowed his gut lightly. 'You know what I mean.'

'I do.' Castle turned her around in his arms, kept his hands at her waist. He lowered his mouth to hers for a light kiss, then a deeper one. 'And we'll have some when the time is right.'

'Uh, but...wait, some?' When he just smiled, took the colander of washed vegetables, Beckett wanted to pull his tongue out of his head. 'Some?'

* * *

R&R&Enjoy!


	13. Jump: A Persuasion

Castle clenched his hands nervously at his sides. He'd been in gun fights on both sides, survived ass-kickings from his cop-friends, even managed not to shriek like a banshee when they'd cracked down on a smuggler in a pet-shop and he'd found a red-knee Mexican tarantula using him as a jungle-gym. But all of those were cake compared to what he was about to do - have a man-to-man beer with his future father-in-law.

Fiero's on Fifth was the kind of place he'd expect the man to pick - good Italian food, decent wine for cheap and a friendly relaxed atmosphere. He briefly wondered if it was because he had connections to a mob hitman working undercover in the kitchen who could poison his clams Casino if he didn't give the right answers to any questions, but remembered that Jim Beckett was an Irishman and the Westies would be more his speed; they operated just north of Spanish Harlem, not the Flatiron District.

Castle went in, and without waiting for the hostess to return, made his way up the central aisle of tables to the corner booth where he saw Jim with a Coke

'Jim, good to see you again, sir.'

'Ricky Castle,' Jim replied, rising from his spot to hug his future son-in-law. 'My Katie-Lou's keeping you on your toes?'

'All the time.'

Castle studied the man's profile as he flagged down the waitress. If the role had been there to cast, he'd have asked for Scott Glenn as Nikki Heat's father in the movie, and made a mental note of it to write into his drafts. 'A glass of the Savuto Rosato, please,' he told the waitress, taking the menu from her hand. 'Well, we could make with chit-chat about the Yankees losing their best pitcher, but I don't think you just wanted a night out of the house.'

'I wanted to talk to you about my Katie, Richard.' Jim sipped his soft drink, folded his hands in front of him on the table. 'She may be a tough cop but she's also a very vulnerable woman. She hasn't had a lot of boyfriends, mostly because when she should have been dating and making the kinds of mistakes young women are supposed to make, she was taking care of me. You're the first one I've ever seen make her cry.'

'Cry?'

'Before you two got together.' Jim took another sip, knowing his girl would string him up for target practice if she got wind of this. 'Your last day, you left with some other woman, she was supposed to go out with her boys and Lanie for some drinks and instead she came over to my place. She was barely through the door before she was in my arms weeping that she'd screwed her chances with you. So when my daughter tells me you're dating and then living together, and then you ask her to marry you out of the blue, you can understand a little of my apprehension about your union.'

'I do. But I also want to make sure you understand sir, I've never been in a relationship like the one I have with Kate. Neither of my marriages can even come close to it.'

'Tell me about them.'

'Evil Meredith, my first wife-'

I'm sorry, Evil Meredith?'

'To distinguish her from Good Meredeth, Esposito's wife,' Castle clarfied. 'Two very different women who happen to share the same name. Anyways, Evil Meredith was very...glossy. At first she was fun and wild, and came from money, and I was so dazzled by her charm that I couldn't see underneath it there was nothing. She was just into fashion and style, and never really cared about the substance beneath. The only two things I got out of that marriage were my daughter and how not to make a relationship work. She didn't think things like insulting and belittling my ambitions in front of her snobby society friends. I realized a little too late that the only reason she was after me in the first place was because I had some celebrity already as a writer and was trying to work her connection as my wife into her own career.'

'And where is she now?'

'California is her base, but she's in Thailand shooting the next big indie hit, or so she hopes it will be.'

Jim finished off his drink. 'And the other one?'

'Right, Gina. Gina's my publisher and we'd always loved to hate each other, right from my first book being put into publication. Icy blonde, the kind that makes a man just...well, you know,' Castle trailed off on a sheepish grin. 'Anyways, we'd started dating to give those sparks a try and it went well, and then one night in Vegas we got very drunk on tequila shooters at my launch party and before I knew what we were doing, we'd said 'I do' at the Little White Wedding Chapel on the strip. The next morning we realized we had two options - annulment or make a go of it. And we tried to make a go of it, for about a year and a half, but we realized that the nature of our relationship was based on being compatible adversaries and that's not how you make a marriage work. Plus I had Lex to think of, and she was only six. I wanted to be the one to raise her, not a wicked spoiling stepmother and certainly not a nanny. So we decided to remain business partners and called off our marriage. It's now one of the most functional relationships I've had that's almost as old as my daughter.'

'So now Alexis is almost grown and you've met Katie and you think this is the one that will last?'

'I know it will, sir. She's good for me, keeps me level headed and...she makes me feel loved. I know she loves me, but you know that feeling when you're away from someone and just the knowledge that they're out there and they miss you in the same way? I never felt that . And I'd do anything for her, to keep her safe.'

'I know. I remember her telling me how you made her pancakes.' Jim tried to fight the smile, knowing that if he also mentioned that her girl had been so obviously disappointed he hadn't made a move on her that night, it would be game over. Of course, she hadn't said it out loud but a parent always knows. 'She told me you've told your friends you're engaged but you're keeping the wedding a secret?'

'Ah, well, that's more of a Castle thing. We've had a lot of friends give us huge news in big ways of late, so we're going for the opposite. We're inviting our friends, and you and my mother of course, to the Hamptons for the July holiday weekend under the pretext of her birthday party but it will actually be our wedding. We've already talked to a judge friend of ours whose agreed to perform the ceremony and the only wedding party will be my daughter Alexis. Friends of ours, Javier and Meredeth, they just got married last August in a gorgeous small outdoor wedding. Less than fifty people in total including the wedding party.'

'Wow, that is small.'

'Exactly, and I'm telling you that wedding felt like the event of the century because of all the love and the joy they had about making those promises to each other. I want our wedding to be like that too - private, intimate, and shared only with the people we love most in the world. It's not about the trappings, it's about us.'

* * *

R&R&Enjoy.


	14. Jump: A Confrontation

The moment Castle stepped off the elevator into the Twelfth's Homicide bullpen, he knew something was up. It was the way he saw Esposito perk up in his chair when he saw the writer step off the elevator, Wiley E Coyote hearing the Roadrunner's approach. As Castle walked towards them, the detective's warm brown eyes all but glittered with anticipation.

'Somebody's in trouble,' he almost sang, swiveling back and forth in his chair, grinning around the pen between his teeth.

'Yeah, bro, you really did it this time.' Ryan wandered back from the break-room, passed his partner the coffee he'd requested. 'She came back from surveillance lookin' to kick ass and take names, dude.'

'Said to give you this.' Esposito passed him a folded piece of paper.

Castle took the note, read it as his confusion grew. 'Castle, meet me in the gym, come prepared. Beckett.'

'You musta done something, she's last-namin' her fiance.' Esposito rolled the word off his tongue, liking the way the writer's handsome face turned a slight red. He'd been the brunt of the next-to-be-married and the newlywed jokes for over a year and a half, he was honour-bound to pass the torch. 'Oh, and by the way, we're still a little miffed we didn't get to hear about the engagement when you actually did it.'

'Miffed,' Ryan echoed.

'Better go see what she wants.'

Castle turned on his heel to take the elevator up to the sixth floor; for whatever genius reason the architects had made the upper most level of the building the gym, right above Vice and Robbery. He could have easily taken the stairs but he want to see what his girl was up to sooner rather than later.

Back in Homicide, Esposito sipped his coffee, glanced at his watch. Meredeth was in Chicago until the next day so he was in no rush to go home to an empty house, although Arturo would probably need to go out for a short walk. Still, the dog was well-trained and knew when no one was home drinking a lot wasn't a good idea. Opening a fresh note-pad page on his computer, he began to type up their notes from the surveillance detail to compare them with the team taking the midnight-to-six shift.

He managed to hold out against the fact his partner was staring at him impatiently for about three minutes. Tilting his head so he looked around his screen, Esposito arched an eyebrow at his partner. 'My wife's away on business, what's your excuse for staying late?'

'I'm wondering why you and I are still sitting here like chumps when we're about to watch our boss live out one of her top fantasies since Castle came around.'

They stared at each other for about three humming seconds, then made a running start to the elevator. Esposito arrived first, hit the button to take them up. 'A Jackson says she beats his ass into a bloody pulp.'

* * *

When Castle arrived in the gym in his workout gear, he wasn't surprised to find it mostly empty. No one, save for the angry or distracted, would be in the gym after one in the morning.

And his little hummingbird was pounding righteous shit out of the weighted bag, which had him gulping just a tad.

'Castle? That you?' she bellowed over her shoulder.

'Yes?'

'I have a bone to pick with you.'

'Did you say pick or break?'

'Could be both.' Beckett delivered a one-two school-yard swing to the bag before turning on him.

'How about you tell me what I did?'

'What you did? You told my father all about your ex-wives, Castle! Do you have any idea the work it took me to convince him that you weren't going to break my heart? Every time I was stressed or worried and talking to him, he immediately thought it was because of you, and you-' she shoved him back two full steps 'like an _idiot_, go and shoot your mouth off to him!'

'I'm not going to fight you, Kate. I dont' hit women, even in a boxing ring.'

'Funny, because I do.'

She went to take a swing at him, but he was quick too, and turned her wind-up at him into a compression hold; somehow they wound up with her spooned into his body as he spoke quietly but firmly.

'Your dad called me because he wanted to make sure our marriage wouldn't be a joke to me, and he asked me about my ex-wives. I told him nothing but the truth-'

'Let go.'

'-and also told him that the night you made Brewster blow up was when I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt I was in love with you.'

That had her struggles against his hold ceasing. They'd never talked about the 'moment of when'. 'Really?'

'I knew if I'd gotten to you that much that you'd prank me like that, I was doing something right.'

She'd stopped fighting against him, but her chest was still heaving and she still had some blood in her eye. 'But why wouldn't you have told me you were going to meet my dad?'

'Because he called me, and I treated it like I was asking for your hand. He even said to me, you're almost good enough for my little girl', which sounds very much like a guy who just wants his daughter to be happy.'

'He said that?' There was a shake in her voice but Beckett forced it out. 'Really?'

'Is it important?'

'It's what my grandfather told him when he asked him for permission to marry my mom,' she said in a small voice.

Castle felt the punch of it in his chest. Turning her into his arms, he held her close as he felt her shudder a little. Why hadn't this occurred to him? Why hadn't he thought that with all the preparations they were starting to make it would bring back memories of her parents? 'It's okay, Kate.'

'I miss her.'

'I would very much like to have gotten to meet her.'

'She'd like you, too. She'd call you a scoundrel, the kind every woman should have in her life to keep things fun.'

They stood there for a moment, him gently rocking her; because they were the only two in the room, he knew she wouldn't mind. The sound of the locker room door swinging open had her jerking away, but the movement died when she saw it was only Ryan and Esposito, looking like the kids who'd gotten to the circus too late.

'Just wanted to make sure you were okay, boss,' Esposito said lamely.

'Oh please, you were hoping to see me trouncing him. No wonder you guys always lose on poker nights.' But Beckett did step away momentaril to get her water bottle and towel. 'I'm hitting the showers and calling it a night. And thank you for your so-called concern. Castle, I'll meet you at the car.'

* * *

Beckett wasn't surprised to find him waiting for her by the Crown Vic. Because she was still feeling incredibly upside down, she marched over to him, pressed a hard, hot kiss to his lips. She skirted the hood of the car, yanked open the door.

'When we get home, there will be no talking, not until I've had my way with you.'

* * *

R&R&Enjoy!


	15. Jump: A Passion

_Hey everyone! Thank you SO very very much for your kind words and LOL-worthy comments in your reviews! This chapter starts out spicy but ends so sweetly, I have to be honest and say I was nearly in tears writing it. Pass the word, share the love!_

* * *

Kate Beckett was a woman of her word. The moment they were through the door of the loft, she pounced and was pressed up against him like she wanted to splice into him. Her mouth was hot and furious against his soft, surprised one and though he couldn't believe he was going to do it, it was necessary. Castle placed his hands on her shoulders and managed to unfasten their lips.

'Mother? Hello? Anyone here?'

When they were met with silence, Beckett grabbed the lapels of his coat and yanked him against her once more. 'Just us, Rich. And I thought I said no talking until I'm done.'

Taking his hand, she flew up the stairs with him to their bedroom, shoving him through the door and slamming it shut with her foot. She started stripping off her clothes - first her socks, then pants and underwear, blouse and bra; Castle had barely shrugged off his coat in the same amount of time. The fire in her eyes had him leaving his hands at his sides, and he wisely kept his mouth shut. This was a woman not to be trifled with, but he also knew there wasn't a man alive who would turn down rough, angry sex from a dark-eyed goddess such as her.

She planted her palm in the centre of his chest, and shoved him still fully clothed to his back on the bed, crawled on top. Her fingernails raked over his linen-covered skin; when it looked like she was going to flip open the first button on his shirt, she instead used the little pocket for purchase to grab two handfuls of fabric and rip it open all the way to his belt. The buttons bounced on the hardwood floor like Skittles.

Castle wasn't quite sure what to make of this version of Beckett. They'd had make-up sex before; it was impossible to have a relationship like theirs where they were equally loving and antagonistic to each other and not be familiar with the concept. But this had a different flavour it; he knew his love and knew she wouldn't be in the mood to chat until she purge it from her system. And what a way to purge.

He didn't have much time to think, as her hands had gone for his belt buckle and she slid the leather through the loops, then snap with a resounding _crack!_ before going back to attack his zipper. Her moves tonight were lightening quick and soon, he was as naked as she was, with her on top of him, lithe and slim and close to desperation for him. Gripping her hips, he rolled so she was underneath, and he savaged her mouth as she made squeaky noises in her throat that dissolved into passionate moans, almost protestations. He wanted to touch and taste and give to her whatever she needed. His hands were no longer gentle as they found her flesh but bruising and rough, the way she wanted them right now. He kissed his way down her body, suckling at her breasts and making her moan even louder; her hips arched against his as her thighs shifted apart and cradled the hot, hard length of him with the sweet dampness there. The feel of her fingernails digging into his skin and then down his back only served to spur him on, kissing and touching her until she was almost at the point of orgasm.

But she had moves of her own for tonight. Locking her legs together around his waist, she rolled so he was underneath her once more and it was his turn for his head to loll back against the pillows as she whipped him into frenzy for her. Lowering her mouth to his chest, she planted a line of hot, sticky kisses down the center of his body, down through his treasure trail until she pressed her face against his hip, then slid her mouth over to him to take him in. She heard him swear viciously and knew she had him totally at her mercy. Her tongue dipped and swirled over him, each pass making him groan in frustrated pleasure as his hands combed through her hair, keeping her close. When she heard his breathing shift, begin to hitch, she released him and before he could protest she was ranging herself above him; he pierced her, filled her.

Castle's breath escaped his lips in a burst as he felt her clench around him, began to rock and grind. She was right' no talking was allowed, not here. He moved his hands to the small of her back, then up in a vain hope to get her to bend down to him so he could kiss her. There was always reassurance, no matter what the other motives, in a kiss; a kiss whether passionate or sweet was a reminder that you could still feel and someone could feel for you. But when he put the slightest pressure against her skin, she bucked against his touch, kept her back arched as she rode him with hard deliberate strokes. He watched as the orgasm tumbled through her like a waterfall, and as she shuddered, she finally spoke.

'I love you.'

She said it again and again until it was the last sound he heard before jumping into the welcoming void of release.

When the most violent of the tremors had subsided, Beckett slid bonelessly down to him, her forehead against his chest. 'I love you,' she repeated for what felt like the thousandth time. 'I love you so much, Rich, thank you for this.'

'Happy to be of service. Now what's wrong?'

The simple question snapped the lock on the floodgates; Beckett felt it rear up and grab her by the throat. She turned her head so her cheek pressed against his chest as hot burning tears poured from her eyes. His arms were around her in an instant, holding her closely, his voice murmuring soothingly as all of it came gushing out.

'It's okay, my love.'

'I don't even know where that came from.'

'Well, you've got the choke-and-stab murders still going on, your best friend is about to be a mother in three months time, Gil and Robina are having a baby too, and we're trying to plan a wedding on the sly, then your dad called you and told you we talked about our relationship. I'm surprised you didn't crack up sooner, although I have to say if you're going to blow your lid, it's kinda fun you blew mine too.'

Beckett laughed, swiped her eyes with her fingertips. 'You said something, when we were at the gym, that you knew the night you were in love with me was the night we pranked you in the Medina case.'

'Yes. I was wiping up coffee grinds I realized the only reason I was doing it wasn't because you'd shoot me. It's because I love you, and I want to spend the rest of my life putting the smile I saw that night on your face.'

'I've been thinking about something.'

'You thinking? Stop the presses.' When she punched him lightly, Castle knew she was almost herself again. 'Wedding or work or Nikki Heat?'

'Wedding. I don't want white. I want pink.'

'Pink?'

'Yes.' Beckett shifted a little to cuddle against him. 'My favourite picture of my mother and father is this snapshot I took when we were on vacation, on a beach in South Carolina, and my parents are walking hand in hand. She's wearing a pink sundress with white hibiscus in her hair and I remember looking at them and thinking they were the most beautiful parents in the world.'

'Then pink you shall have.'

* * *

R&R&Enjoy.


	16. Jump: An Admission

Beckett couldn't believe she was actually going to do it, but stranger things had happened in her life. She was going to take a half-a-personal day for pure self indulgence. The choke-and-stab murders had died off once again and with the creation of the task force which was fielding hotline help tips in a quiet but steady manner, and people still waking up from winter hibernation, two weeks before Easter Friday seemed like the perfect time for such a day.

Even more baffling was who she would spend it with. Actually, given the agenda for the afternoon, she wasn't surprised at all.

'You all set for your girl-date?'

'It's not a date, Esposito.'

'If she's buying, it's a date.'

'Actually, I am. You closed the Garvey case, I see.'

Esposito flipped the file in his hand around for her inspection, scratched the back of his head. He'd decided to let his hair grow back in and since he only had to think hard for a five-o'clock shadow but it took nearly four months for his head to even have a hairline again, the slow rate of growth had his scalp tingling. 'Yeah, looks like the landlord made good on his promise for either the rent or his tenant's hide. Makes me thankful my old building's worst problem was year-round picnic ants.'

'Good.' Beckett swung away from her murder board which was surprisingly empty - apparently the lingering winter chills were making the animals stay in hibernation. Of course, that probably meant the summer would be rockin' and rolling but for right now, a little tranquility wasn't unwelcome.

She'd just finished shutting down her computer when the elevators dinged and opened; she knew her date had arrived from the way her fellow detective's face lit up like a little boy meeting his baseball hero.

'Hello Detective.'

'Hello Writer-Chef.' Esposito greeted Meredeth with a warm kiss. 'She's almost ready to go, and before you ask, yes I'll call the vet back before five tonight.'

'Good. I want to make sure Artie gets his shots before some fleas think the big mutt is a party barge.'

'Is that anyway to talk about our baby?' Esposito gave her hip a squeeze, her lips another peck. 'Enjoy your afternoon. I'm going to go fish Ryan out of the coffee maker.'

'Okay. Take care of my cop. Love you.'

'Love you too.'

When Esposito had wandered off in search of his partner, Meredeth turned back to Beckett, eyes bright. 'Lunch out at Pompanos is always fun but lunch with my favourite lady cop is extra-fun. But what I don't get is why we're going on a tasting for your birthday when it's not until after Lanie pops out the gumball.'

'I've always wanted to try them and we have to have a menu confirmation for them by the middle of April.' The story she'd constructed with Castle for essentially luring Meredeth into helping menu plan for their wedding appeared to have worked, as Meredeth nodded wisely.

'Clearly you remember mine and Javi's one-year, when we used it to test-drive a caterer for the wedding, thank god we did.'

'Nothing says happy anniversary like deli sandwiches and potato chips when your pro caterer serves you raw fish.'

'Alright let's go.' Meredeth clapped her gloved hands. 'There's food awaitin'!'

* * *

They arrived at Pompanos promptly for their reservation, and were shown to a private booth near the kitchen; Castle, ever the wily one, had made the reservations for a party menu tasting, or the whole cover would have been blown.

Meredeth, of course, was completely prepared and had passed Beckett a little stack of note-cards along with a pen. 'We're doing a sampling and there's going to be a lot of stuff to try, so notes are a good way to assess from a distance.'

'Good idea.'

The waiter came in then with the appetizer courses; when the plates were set before them, she could see that Castle knew her very well, as she saw exactly what she wanted to see - high-dollar home-cooked beach fare. There was brie en croute with fig and raspberry preserves for cheese and crackers, curried tropical fruit salad, and butter chicken on Asian slaw, one of her very favourites, all served in sampler size portions.

'Dig in, birthday girl,' Meredeth said, draping her napkin in her lap.

They dove into the food, keeping the conversation light, mostly about Beckett's work; Meredeth being a writer like Castle always had an interesting take on things and Beckett was certain it was one of many reasons Esposito loved her so much. Again, much like Castle, she was very understanding of the demands homicide cops had on their personal time.

By the time the plates were cleared and they had made their notes, Meredeth was drinking her ice water and studying the Detective's profile. 'You seem awfully edgy, Detective.'

'I'm not used to playing hooky.'

'Well, this kind of thing is important. It may feel like we're being shallow and Valley-Girl flaky, but when you've got someone throwing you a bash like this, you make sure you are holding up on your end of the bargains. Lets them know you respect them.'

'I suppose so.' Beckett took a drink of ice water. 'Can I tell you something, Meredeth?'

'Sure.'

'When you and I were first becoming friends, you scared the crap out of me.'

'I did?' Bafflement warred with flattery on Meredeth's round pretty face. 'Why?'

'Because you met Esposito maybe a month after Castle and I got together, and it freaked me out how okay you were with what he does. It seemed like you were doing it for so much longer than a few weeks when he introduced us to you.'

'Oh, that.' Meredeth chuckled, sipped her own glass of water. 'I've had my moments of pure freak-out. Some sleepless moments when he's late checking in because you guys went to bust someone, or nights when he's called to a scene and I get a little scared I'll get a call again like I did almost two years ago that something's happened to him.'

'How does that feeling not drive you crazy?'

'I know my cop and know that he'd do everything possible to get home safely to me.' Meredeth paused, pursed her lips. 'Kate, are you having second thoughts about it?'

'No, of course not. I love Rich very much, and...I just guess I'm nervous.' It was a slightly startling admission but Beckett realized it was nothing more than good old-fashioned butterflies that had been plaguing her ever since her fiance had chatted with her father about his intentions. 'I haven't felt this kind of nervous before, did you feel like-'

'-you couldn't believe this was your life?' Meredeth finished with a smile. She may have been the youngest of the Twelfth precinct gang but she was also one-half of its second marriage, and in this arena she was thrilled she could be her friend's mother hen. 'Kate, I was single for six years before Javi, and all of a sudden my love life is full of this strong, sexy, unsettlingly charming and romantic Puerto Rican homicide cop. And we'll have been married for six months on the thirtieth. If someone as disastrously unlucky in relationships as I was before him can find happiness and make it work, there's hope for anyone.'

'Thanks Mere.'

'It's what I do.'

* * *

R&R&Enjoy!


	17. Jump: A Competition

'Twenty.'

'I'm in.'

'Raise ten.'

'I call.'

Castle eyed up his quarries around the poker table. It was the gang from the Twelfth tonight; Montgomery had plans with his family so Gil Mazzara was subbing in for the captain. Ryan was always a slippery devil, while Esposito had the easiest tells in the book. Gil was too new to the table to have a handle on, and his bride-to-be, well, she was more than likely his equal around this table.

'Alright.' Gil's Queens-Italian tinged voice split the tension in the air. 'Moment of truth.'

He burned the top card, then flipped the first three - seven of clubs, seven of hearts, two of hearts. To Gil's left, Ryan groaned, tossed in his hand.

'This sucks. Why am I always the one losing his shirt?'

'Ryan, my friend, I do believe you are the unluckiest Irishman I've ever encountered, and that includes being in Vegas for Saint Patty's four years ago.' Castle smiled, sipped scotch. 'Gil?'

'I'm done.'

'Javier?'

'I'll throw in ten,' he decided, tossing his chips into the pot.

'As will I,' Castle added, also throwing in his chips before looking at Beckett. 'What say you, Madam?'

'I'm saving my money for a special occasion.' Beckett resisted the urge to wink at Castle as she said it, turned her cards face down on the table. 'It's all you. Make him go cry in his organic homemade strawberry ice cream.'

'Actually it's vanilla. And Meredeth's the bowl.'

'Oh, Javi-'

'Just kidding.' He wasn't, well, not completely, as they'd discovered one ruined set of bed linens later that trying to be sexy with frozen desserts required more skills than Esposito or Meredeth possessed. 'Gil, turn it up.'

The Jack of spades landed face up, but it was impossible to tell who was going to win this hand, at least until the final bets were made and the last card turned up a nine of clubs. The detective had the hot hand tonight, as he added his seven of spades to make a full house and beat Castle's pairs of nines and jacks.

'I feel violated,' Castle deadpanned, 'and not in the fun way.'

'Someone please change the topic before he starts complaining.'

'Robina went for her sound-check today,' Gil piped up, reaching behind him to the sideboard for a fresh beer. 'Little dude or dudette is growing strong.'

At mention of Robina and Gil's baby, everyone gave him their undivided attention. Everyone in the room knew of the unmitigated hell and unexpected rebirth Gil Mazzara had gone through and how this baby with Robina was nothing short of a miracle for both of them. Gil dark eyes were dancing as he told them about the sonogram, which made Beckett shake her head a little. Gil was a Vice cop, and sometimes those cases hit even harder than homicides as the victims were still alive and needed to be dealt with themselves, yet here he was - happy as Santa at Disneyland over having procreated with his girlfriend. For a moment, Beckett wanted to ask if it was too soon, but then remembered that they'd been together nearly a year and a half themselves. Where had the time gone?

'Are you guys going to find out what it is ahead of time?' Esposito asked.

'Still debating it, we've got a little time to decide. She looks so beautiful, man, just amazing.'

Ryan nodded in agreement. 'How about the hormones? Jenny's were like a yo-yo, and Lanie's been a little nutty since about Thanksgiving.'

'Surprisingly not that bad. She's been through it before, right, so she knows what to expect. TJ's not sure what to make of it when he comes to the table for dinner and he can see his mom has been crying.'

'Oh, yeah, trying to explain that to an eight year old can't be fun.'

'He did the cutest thing though.' Smiling like a father already, Gil shuffled the deck, passed it to Ryan to deal. 'He put a packet of Kleenexes in Robina's purse with a note that said 'just in case', and he told me it's because she always did that for him in his back-pack.'

Beckett smiled; once again, she found her thoughts drifting to the idea of her and Castle making a baby, more specifically what Alexis would have to say about it. She'd be in her twenties when that came to pass - and it had taken her a few wakeful nights to wrap her head around it but Beckett had finally adjusted to the idea that Castle wanted children with her - so Alexis wouldn't need the birds-and-bees conversation like Robina and Gil had probably had with TJ. But it was would be a little awkward for her to tell the young woman if and when it did happen because it would basically be admitting out in the open that she and her father had-

'Kate?'

'Huh?'

'You in?' Ryan looked at her expectantly, hand ready to deal her cards.

'Oh yeah, I'm there.'

'I know that look.' Esposito grinned, absolutely delighted to see even his tough-as-nails boss could be bitten by the love bug and get that sweet dreamy look he'd seen on Meredeth's face while they'd been wedding planning. Or as close to it as Meredeth had come, since she'd also been producing her miniseries simultaneously. 'You've got the wedding on the brain, and I have to say, I'm a little hurt we haven't gotten to hear any of the details of planning yet.'

'We haven't really put anything in stone yet,' Castle fibbed, getting up from the table for a refill of his scotch and his bride-to-be's beer. 'I mean we've batted around ideas but there still needs to be a date before plans are finalized.'

'Okay then.' Ever willing to gamble and knowing his Meredeth would love the scoop, Esposito grabbed Ryan's forearm to stop him from tossing chips into the pot. 'This hand, if any of us win, including Castle, you cough up three deets on the wedding. If you win, you keep your honour.'

'Deal.'

Castle looked at Beckett, a little stricken, as Gil turned up the flop cards - a two of diamonds, a six of hearts and a ten of spades - which of course had Ryan rolling his eyes and throwing his hand down. With the next turn, the five of clubs and the final card of jack of hearts, Castle and Gil threw in, leaving the showdown for Esposito and Beckett.

'Make him squeal,' Castle told her, his eyes on Esposito's face the whole time.

'Only one who does that is my wife,' Esposito returned with a completely devilish grin, showing his cards. 'Three musketeers, what?'

Beckett rolled her eyes at the trio of jacks on the table. 'Just like a little boy, blowing your wad too soon. Martini straight up, two three four five six,' she declared, turning over her own cards and gloating over the frozen mask of shock of Esposito face. 'Looks like I won't be sharing after all. And you're right, you didn't squeal at all, just kinda gaped like a...what's something that gapes?' She turned to an equally amused Castle, making a show of referring to him.

'A big mouth bass.'

'Right, a big ol' Puerto Rican big mouth bass.'

Esposito just pouted. 'You're mean. I'ma sic Meredeth on you.'

* * *

R&R&Enjoy.


	18. Jump: A Discussion

When the poker night had come to a close and their friends had gone home to their respective ladies, Beckett began rounding up beer bottles while Castle let his OCD out and methodically organized his pokers chips into his metallic attache case.

'That was some risky bluff, Detective,' he commented as Beckett dealt with the empties.

'Give me a little credit here, Castle, I wasn't going to spill all, it would have been something like my dress will be pink, not white, which is true. Or that I want purple, peach and white hyacinths and white hibiscuses.'

'Fair enough.'

'They assume because we haven't announced a date we're not planning. So we're going to let them assume.' Beckett dusted her hands off as she sat down beside him, smiling. It had been nice to have a night where work hadn't intruded for any of them, and they could all just let it unwind. 'But I am curious as to how we're going to manage things like the flowers and the rest of it without arousing suspicion.'

'One word. Alexis.'

'Alexis?'

'Yeah. She'll be back from school and has already agreed to play stage manager for our little piece of theatre. She's very good at organizing projects; if medical school craps out, she'll make a killer in PR or events-planning.'

'You want to use my future stepdaughter as your goat in all of this?'

When he didn't say anything back, Beckett looked up, saw the look on his face. 'You okay?'

'Yeah, it's just...that's the first time I've heard you call Alexis your stepdaughter. I like it.'

'You know how much I love her, what she means to me.'

Castle nodded, closed the lid of the case. It wasn't really until those words had come out of her mouth that he'd realized he wasn't just givig himself to her, but that she would make Alexis part of herself as well. Beckett was more of a mother to her than her biological parent, so much so it was terrifying some days.

'I know. Even before we got together, she was a fan of yours.'

The house-line rang then, long-distance, making both of them wonder what was up. Martha was over at the theatre doing late-night rehearsals for her play, and everyone else they knew was local. Thinking he'd pick up on a telemarketer from India not knowing what time it was in North America, Castle was surprised when he heard Alexis' voice.

'Hey Dad.'

'Hey, cupcake, what are you doing calling so late? Or early, I guess, where you are?'

'I have a major exam next Tuesday on clinical diagnostics and I'm meeting my study group for breakfast at seven, so I thought I'd get up a little early.' It came out almost in one sentence. 'Can I talk to Kate for a few minutes?'

'About what?'

'Girl stuff, Dad.'

'Okay.' A little hurt his daughter didn't want to confide in him but understanding that he wasn't equipped for certain things, Castle passed the receiver to Beckett. 'She wants to talk to you. Girl stuff.'

Beckett blinked a little, wondering what kind of girl things Alexis needed her advice on but held the phone to her ear anyways. As a precaution she wandered into the office, closed the door; her cop instincts were humming and told her that if Castle heard any part of the conversation, he'd be on a plane to England to be the overprotective daddy once more. 'Hi Lex, what's going on?'

'Are you somewhere my dad can't hear?'

'Yes, of course.'

'Good, because um...I wanted to ask you, about...a sex thing.'

'A sex thing,' Beckett repeated.

'Yeah.'

Beckett heard the girl moving around, assumed she was putting together her bookbag for the day. 'Is this like a 'how do I know if he's the right first guy' situation or a 'if I do this, will this happen' thing? You know what,' she interrupted herself, 'just say what's on your mind and we'll go from there.'

'Okay, well, you know I've been dating that boy Yuka, right? The Japanese guy from California, he's in the global program the same as me.'

'Right.'

'Well we went to his place last night for a movie and we were were sitting on his couch together, he kind of put his hand under my shirt, and I didn't ask him to, and he didn't ask me, but...it felt so good, Kate, to have his hands on me like that, and...does it make me slutty if I tell him not to be so shy about it the next time?'

'No.' Beckett pressed her lips together to keep the little laugh in. She knew how Alexis would interpret a humoured reaction and it was the last thing she wanted for the girl. 'No, it just makes you a young woman growing up and discovering what she likes and doesn't like when it comes to intimacy with her lover.'

'Whoa, okay, hang on a moment, we're not sleeping together, Kate. We've only been dating since I got back after Christmas-'

'Lover in the sense that it's who you are intimate with,' she clarified.

'Oh.'

'A lot of guys won't admit it, but they get nervous around girls they really like when it comes to things like that.'

'Really?'

'Very much so.' Beckett wanted to use Castle as an example of what good love felt like, but that would be about as appropriate as letting a peeping tom loose in a showgirls' locker room. 'They want to touch and taste and all of that, and they get freaked out by the possibility of rejection, so they play it cool as if the sneak-attack was their plan all along.'

'Huh.'

'The best advice I can give you is the next time things get hot-n-heavy with Yuka, just a few little words of encouragement will open up lines of communication like you wouldn't believe.'

'When you say words of encouragement, what exactly does that mean?'

Beckett hesitated only a moment as she realized what she was doing. 'Well, ah...hand placement or pressure of his fingers or things like that. You know?'

'I think so. I have to go, but if I think of anything else, can I email you or Skype-text you?'

'Of course. Stay safe, okay?'

'Sure. Bye.'

Beckett hung up the phone, let out a little chuckle as she thought, _did I really just give sex advice to Richard Castle's little girl, _then wandered out of the office to see the entire living room where the poker table had been set up was magically back to its usual look. 'That was quick,' she commented.

'Everything alright with Alexis?'

'What, you weren't listening in on the other handset?' Beckett giggled as they went upstairs to get ready for bed. 'Or would that be a mark against the 'cool dad' code?'

'I'm a very cool dad, and besides when it comes to eavesdropping, I'm old-school. Glass against the door. What did she want?' Castle was getting impatient, as was evidenced by his jerky movements of unbuttoning his shirt. and tossing it into the hamper.

Knowing her quarry, Beckett wandered over, wrapped her arms around his waist from behind. 'Consider this one in the 'mother/daughter' column.'

* * *

R&R&Enjoy!


	19. Jump: An Interruption

_Hello once again! So we're making a significant leap forward now to the waiting-room side of Lanie giving birt, as I feel like the most important pieces now are to push towards the actual wedding itself. Lanie's baby is born June 7, they will be getting married on July 3, so we're at less than a month before the wedding now. Also, you may notice in the second scene, there is a portion of dialogue and scene scooped right out of ch. 34 of 'Angel Undercover', which is the companion piece to this story (I wrote both!), in case you're late to the party! Cheers and happy reading!_

* * *

'Kate, you know we have to do this part.'

'I know.'

'Because if you-'

'Castle!' At the end of her tether with her fiance gabbling like a goose while she tried to finish her paperwork in the sweltering heat of early summer, Beckett snapped at him. He just would not shut his fucking mouth. The night before, when he'd suggested they make the most of sleeping naked in the steamy overnight temperatures, it was fantastic on her body, but in the light of day while she was on the clock she was tempted to get the Krazy-Gloo from her field kit and really make him zip it.

'We are going to get our rings sized the moment I'm off shift, okay?' she hissed at him in a low voice. Of course the two who she didn't want overhearing were in the field on assignment and anyone else could be laughed off. 'It's important to me too, believe it.'

She set down her notes, and gave him a rare gift to tell him she wasn't screwing with him - she leaned in and gave him a small peck on his lips, a fleeting birdy-butterfly of a kiss. 'You know I don't break my promises.'

'I know.'

The desk phone rang then, making Castle stand to grab a coffee; it wasn't even nine in the morning and she'd already gone through two cups. It was going to be a long day. He'd gotten half-way out of his chair when she grabbed his wrist, effectively handcuff him to the spot.

'What?' he mouthed but was met with a brick wall.

'Excellent, get airport security to meet the squad car I'm sending right now.' Beckett slammed the phone into the cradle, hauled out her cell to dial the boys. 'TSA just had Val Morales and Gregory Leeds clearing customs an hour ago, they'll be here shortly.'

'Val Morales? The same Val Morales who got her ass shredded by Meredeth?' he asked as she began pulling out her information from the task force on the choke-and-stab murders. 'What's she doing coming here? Esposito finally getting a TRO against her?'

'She and Greg Leeds are our prime suspects in the choke-and-stab murder cases.'

'What?'

'You've been out of the loop with Alexis stuff since she got home after exams, Castle. The boys popped her and Greg on the dates of the murders, we figured out they were getting their victims from a free clinic and trying to use a naive nurse with a fake ID and a record of drug trafficking to be their patsy.'

'Gives whole new meaning to the phrase 'naughty nurse', doesn't it?'

'Have to say I'm not surprised. I saw her in action when she was trying to tear up Javier and Meredeth and Meredeth iced her out. As a woman it was a thing of beauty on Meredeth's part but as a cop...it was more than a little freaky to see what Val was capable of. Anyways, the guys are on their way back and we're going to get Ryan and Esposito to go head-to-head with them.'

Castle's eyes went owlish. 'You're going to let Esposito interrogate his ex? Would you like extra butter on your popcorn?'

'No. After seeing what Ryan could do back in January, I'm going to let him sniff her out. She's the kind who'll save her own ass before anything else.'

'Fair enough. I'm getting you fresh coffee for watching the show, though,' he said, pleased when she nodded her head; he turned back when she called after him, 'oh and easy on the butter for my popcorn.'

* * *

Two and a half hours and two confessions later, Beckett held open the door for Lanie as she waddled belly-first into the Blue Moon coffee shop across from the precinct garage. It had been a complete shock to her to see the pretty ME walk in with Ryan and Esposito, even more to hear that she'd been on scene before they were that morning.

'Why aren't you home, biting through a leather strap or something?' she asked, scanning the brightly-lit menu.

'Because I was just at the doctor's and he said the gumball isn't going to be here for at least a week, maybe two. They may even have to induce labour. Right now I really want a big ol' barbecued chicken sandwich with mayo and lettuce and red onion. Oh and-'

'Hot water with lemon, I remember. Go grab a table with the boys, I'll order.'

'You're going to order for those hooligans?'

'I'm feeling generous and celebratory that those two will be going away for a long time, so I'm buying. That'll be enough for them.'

Beckett went back to perusing her selections, trying to decide on what she wanted for lunch and remembering Esposito had switched to decaf - he'd gotten a little disappointign news with Meredeth that trying to conceive a baby might not be so fool-proof for her as they'd thought, so he'd cut out all alcohol and caffeine from his diet before Easter. He'd been in withdrawal for about a week and had been nearly intolerable but when he'd explained why he was doing it, they all made sure they didn't touch the decaf espresso beans in the break-room.

She was halfway through the line-up - Blue Moon was popular with the take-away lunch crowd when Esposito came up to her, a little panicked looking. 'Kate, Lanie's water just broke.'

'Seriously?'

'Yep, Ryan's helping her with her breathing through a contraction.'

Beckett glanced over, saw him there as he held her hand and stared at his watch, nodding to an unknown beat. She walked over with her detective, tried to keep her voice as level and steady as possible, though inside her heart was cartwheeling.

'Doctor Parrish, seems like you're having a baby on my lunch break,' she said, pleased when she got a laugh. 'I'll call Montgomery, let him know what's happened and tell him I'm springing Oscar and Felix here to take you over to Saint V's. And yes, boys you may use your lights and sirens,' she added, knowing her permission took away little of the thrill but at least it wouldn't get them busted to Traffic.

'We're not the Odd Couple,' Esposito pointed out.

Beckett only smiled as Ryan helped Lanie to her feet. 'I'll be there as soon as I can, okay?'

She watched as the detectives helped Lanie walk out of the cafe, across the street to the garage before she snagged a counter-attendant near the table. 'Excuse me,' she said, tempted to flash her badge. 'My friend who just left, the pregnant one, her water just broke and it's kind of all over the floor out here.'

'I'll get it taken care of right away.'

Beckett smiled, only slightly cranky she hadn't gotten to order a snack. She'd only had time to down a granola bar that morning so she was craving something with a little more substance. She had her cell out before she'd crossed the threshold of the cafe.

'Hello my love.'

'Lanie's water broke, she's on her way to the hospital with Ryan and Esposito. I'm going to talk to the captain, get the paperwork sorted out and then I'm going to Saint Vincent's. Where are you?'

'Just finished a meeting with Paula, I'll be there in fifteen.'

'Okay. And Castle? Bring your usual buffet.'

'Better yet, I'll co-ordinate with Meredeth.'

* * *

R&R&Enjoy.


	20. Jump: An Anticipation

By the time Beckett was able to extricate herself from the final heaps of paperwork - once she'd cracked, Val had been a fountain of information and had given Ryan quite the detailed account of their crimes - it was almost three in the afternoon. She fought mid-day traffic across town to Saint Vincent's and was promptly directed upstairs to the same floor where they'd waited for Honey-Milk and Ryan's little guy to be born.

Though most didn't know it, Beckett loved babies. She loved holding them and breathing in that smell, and seeing all that discovery of things around them shining in their eyes. But she also loved them because when they were horrid little monsters, home they went. But she was older and wiser now, and their friends were having their own babies - Dell would be two on July seventeenth and Rosie George-Esposito had just turned one on May eleventh; being in a committed relationship herself, she knew there would be some who would ask when she was thinking about starting a family. It occasionally made her feel guilty she'd never given dreams of meeting a guy and making a life with him much thought; weren't all normal little girls supposed to want those things?

The elevator doors opened and relief was sweet when she saw none other than Lady Ryan standing at the nurses station, her wedding ring winking under the fluorescent lights. There was another woman who hadn't turned into a Stepford wife either; she was still the woman who'd cut everyone's knees out with her sweetness when they'd first met her. Only now, she balanced between making kissy faces at her son, and kissy faces at her husband.

Honey-Milk glanced up at the sound of approaching footsteps, changed her posture from business to friendship. 'Hey, Katie,' she said in a warm and friendly greeting.

'Hey Jenn. Where's she at?'

'Ryan's in there right now while Dave went to the men's room.'

'I meant, how far along in the whole process?'

'Oh, sure.' Honey-Milk consulted her chart. 'She's at about three centimetres, and her contractions are still about eight minutes apart. We need them down to forty seconds for her to be ready to push.'

'Okay, so I'm not too late.'

'Not at all. The rest of them are in the lounge,' she added as her pager went off and she darted down the hall, calling Lanie's room number over her shoulder.

Beckett smiled, walked in to the mentioned room and for a moment, just watched her friend. Lanie's long straight locks were braided back off of her face - something she knew was Dave's touch, as he often did that for Lanie when she'd been ready to lose her mind thanks to her hormones, and her face was shiny with sweat. In the chair beside her bed, Ryan sat talking her through a breathing exercise, looking far more calm than when Honey-Milk had delivering Dell.

'And big one in, big one out.'

'Thank you Captain Obvious.'

'If he's Captain Obvious, what does that make Castle?'

Lanie glanced up, saw her friend there. 'Hey, you made it.' She watched as Ryan slipped out silently, then blew out a breath. 'He's been such an amazing friend,' she started, then winced when she saw Beckett's hurt look. 'I'm sorry, Kate, I didn't mean it like that.'

'It's okay, really. He's been through it, I haven't.'

'You will.' Even in the middle of labour, Lanie's smile was comforting. 'When the universe says it's the right time.'

'He said he wants 'some', Lanie. 'Some' means more than one.'

'Yes, I remember that lesson in kindergarten too.'

'I'm not equipped to be a mom, Lanie.'

'Correction, sweetie - between Alexis and those monkeys you work with at the precinct, you kind of already are. Remember the double-down case, when you were scolding them for betting on their investigations?' When Beckett laughed at the memory, Lanie patted her hand. 'See? You know what I mean, so...oh, mm, yee-haw.'

'Contraction?'

'Oh yeah.'

Instinctively, Beckett clasped Lanie's hand in hers and breathed with her through the worst of it. Beckett kept her eyes on the monitor, keeping track of the heart-rate. When it was over, she reached for the damp cool clothes in a basin on the table beside her friend's bed and patted her face down.

'See?' Lanie said when she'd gotten her wind back. 'You got good mother all over you.'

* * *

The hours crawled by and for Beckett, a woman of action, the waiting was interminable. The room was even more crowded now, as Alexis had gone to pick up TJ and brought him to the hospital as well. But even more than that, she found herself getting very antsy; because everyone around her was in their own little worlds of magazines and iPods and conversations, no one except Castle noticed. She poked him in the ribs to get his attention away from his laptop. 'Why does Jenn get to be in there? I'm her friend too.'

'Yes, but Jenn is a nurse, sweetie.'

Beckett stomped her feet in petulant frustration. As a woman of action, of doing and taking charge, she loathed the waiting game, even if it was over a joyous occasion like Lanie becoming a mommy. 'Fine, fine.' She drilled her index fingers against her temples, dragged them to the center of her forehead. 'It's been hours.'  
'Barely five.'

'Were you this calm when Alexis was born?'

'Didn't have the time.' Resigned that his chapter ending would have to wait Castle set his laptop aside, leaned forward to rest his elbows on his knees. 'Between keeping my mother updated in between scenes of her matinee performance and running ragged for Evil Merideth, I could barely remember my own name.'

He studied his cop, realized she was pouting a little. 'I think someone's feeling left out.'

'That's ridiculous!'

'Kate...'

A pause. 'Well, I'm better friends with her than she is with Honey-Milk, why didn't I get to be asked to be her back-up coach? I've delivered a baby.' Or rather, she'd assisted by watching out for the ambulance, when she'd been on patrol.

'I know it's something cops train for as a just-in-case, but this is Honey-Milk's job, she does it all the time. Hell I'm willing to bet this isn't even the first gumball she's delivered today.' Castle wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pleased when she pillowed her temple against his. 'Have they come up with a name yet?'

'No. How did you and Evil Meredith decide on Alexis Harper?'

'Evil Meredith's maiden name was Harper so that was easy, but Alexis...it just popped out of my mouth when the doctor put me in her arms. I never knew any Alexis before her. We knew we liked the letter A or E because of having a hard consonant start the surname. I originally thought of Cassandra, like in the Homeric epics, but my mother wisely pointed out that Cassie Castle sounds like a porn-star's name. And you couldn't shorten it to Sandy, either.'

'Sandy Castle, I like that,' Beckett snickered. 'I knew a guy in my AP physics class in high school named Harrison Peters. No one called him Harry.'

The room suddenly went quiet, and Beckett glanced over to see Dave in the doorway, Honey-Milk hovering back behind him.

'So?' Meredeth asked in anticipation.

'It's a boy.'

* * *

R&R&Enjoy!


	21. Jump: A Trepidation

The Castle clan didn't arrive home until almost eleven, after they'd seen Kevin Oscar Parrish-Robbins, who weighed in at a hefty eight pounds, three ounces, and chatted with the exhausted Lanie. Alexis, who was still trying to adjust to Eastern Standard time after her flight in two days before from London, immediately headed upstairs with a cursory 'night, love you' for them both.

'I think this calls for something distilled in a large glass,' Castle sighed, fatigued from waiting but so thrilled for his friend.

'No argument here.'

Beckett went over to the couch, flopped face first onto the comfortable fabric. A hell of a day, she thought, a major serial homicide closed and her best friend becoming a mother to a beautiful baby boy. Kevin Oscar, she thought, Carey for short. A unique name, that was for sure, thought its reasons were as old as the hills - Oscar after Lanie's dad and Kevin after Detective Ryan, whom the group had learned was also named godfather. That was a no-brainer for sure; Lanie and Ryan's friendship had grown and bloomed during her pregnancy as he was the one who understood what it was to have unplanned pregnancy be a welcome if surprising game-changer.

As had happened since she'd driven to the hospital, Beckett could shake the baby thoughts from her head. Lanie had said she'd make a great mom and part of Beckett believed her. She was a strong independent woman, and yet...she was a cop, a job that put her in harm's way more frequently than, say a nurse or a teacher, other more accepted 'female' or 'motherly' jobs. Of course, that was bullshit, as Cam had recounted stories of a woman he knew from the army, a fellow nurse like him - Carla Rostan who made some of the Marines he knew look like whining little prisses, particularly when she'd dealt with combat crank the way most women dealt with menstrual cramps. And the stories she'd heard Meredeth tell about her mother Freja were just as impressive; Beckett particularly liked the one where Freja had told the man with the shrapnel wound until he'd given birth to an eight pound baby with no medication he better shut his sound-hole.

So why shouldn't she be able to do that when she had her own children? Hell, there was something that had thrown her completely off yet again. One she could handle, she thought, but Castle had said 'some', as in more than one. He was an only child, so was she, and Alexis had no siblings. What the hell would they know about having more than one child?

'You're awfully deep in thought, Detective. Fortunately, I have a cure for that. Oh-six Mersault. I'm not one for Burgundy wines but this is pretty good.'

Castle came over with the wine and two glasses in hand, pressed the remote for the fireplace after pouring; despite the warm weather outside, the loft was cool, almost chilly and a low burn would definitely help take the edge off. 'Congratulations, Auntie Katie.'

'Same to you, Uncle Ricky.'

'Lanie's a mom.' Castle shook his head, drank his wine as Beckett sat up to do the same. 'So we've got three little ones now, a girl and two boys. What do you think it'll be for Robina and Gil?'

'No clue.' Beckett sipped her wine, the crisp taste refreshing and clearing the fog away. 'When we have a baby, I don't want names starting with the letter J.'

'Oh?'

'No. And Johanna is definitely off limits. Stop that.'

'What?'

'You're grinning.'

'Am I?' It wasn't a coy trick; Castle didn't realize his face had split into a smile. He rubbed a hand over his jaw, tried to give in but just couldn't do it. 'Perhaps I'm just very pleasantly surprised to hear the phrase 'when we have a baby' trip so lightly off your tongue.'

'There's nothing light about it, Rich. I've been thinking about it since Valentine's Day, when you said we'd have 'some', meaning more than one. It's a lot to think about, I mean I've always known I wanted a family when the time was right, but that always stayed very hypothetical. Being in a relationship where saying things like that have pretty hot-button consequences...let's just say it's a reason some of my past relationships didn't work out.'

'Or maybe, deep down, you knew they weren't the man you wanted to have those conversations with. Let me ask you something.'

'Sure.'

'When I first mentioned having more than one, what was your initial emotional response?'

'Fear.'

'Why?'

Beckett sipped her wine as she gave him an answer, which had been a conclusion reached after many restless nights. 'Because one I can handle, but two or three is even scarier. Neither of us have siblings, so what do we know about that kind of family environment.'

'I know it will be many things, but the words 'dull' 'boring' or 'lonely' aren't on that list.'

Beckett knew this to be true; it was why she loved living in Manhattan, being surrounded by all that noise and commotion. 'Since we seem to be having some life-altering conversations today, can we talk about my name?'

'Huh?'

'My name, like what happens after we're married in July.' Beckett took another drink, topped off her glass when she saw it was nearing empty. 'It occurred to me when I heard Lanie and Dave use both their names with Carey.'

'Ah.'

'Please don't take this as a slight against you but I don't want to be Detective Castle. I just don't. I've worked hard for my badge and my name means something, you know?'

'I do, nor would I ask you to change it for the sole reason that we're married. But that being said.' Castle paused as he drained his own glass, wrapped his arm around her to keep her close. 'Would you object to being Detective Beckett and Mrs. Castle?'

'No. It's not like Meredeth, you know, she's in the entertainment business of literature, and she's , or Lanie, who is Doctor Parrish and will be Mrs. Parrish-Robbinses. Damn, I think this is getting me a little goofy.'

Castle nodded, wisely keeping his mouth shut; she was exhausted and he knew the wine was going straight to her head, making her babble like a brook. Knowing she would probably not notice, given how inside her own head she was, he pulled her to her feet and walked with her upstairs to their bedroom, keeping the conversation going the whole time. 'But here's the thing Kate, something you told me on one of our earliest cases together. You have to treat each case individually. You can use the others as guidance but when it comes down to it, it's something fresh. So you can use your friends' examples to justify if you need to, but what it boils down to is what you want to do for yourself and for your relationship with me.'

'I want to be Detective Beckett and Mrs. Katherine Louise Castle.'

'Then that's what you shall be.'

'But Alexis doesn't have to call me Mom, unless she wants to.' Beckett looked around, saw they were now in the bedroom. 'Did we walk and talk?'

'Yes.'

'Huh. Okay.' Curling into the fetal position, Beckett leaned over on her side and tugged the summer-weight blankets up to her nose. 'Sounds good. Wake me up in a few hours for work. I'm on the roll at seven thirty.'

* * *

R&R&Enjoy.


	22. Jump: An Admiration

'Fiji.'

'Too remote.'

'The Netherlands.'

'Too wet.'

'Oh there are so many things I could do with that statement,' Castle teased her as they went up in the elevator of Lanie and Dave's apartment building. 'We do need to pick a spot to go for our honeymoon. Something fun and exciting.'

'Yeah, sure we'll just go to Monte Carlo for two weeks, no biggie.' Beckett only rolled her eyes as they got off on the appropriate floor, knocked on the door. It was opened by Dave, grinning widely and speaking in a whisper.

'Come on in,' he murmured, new father pride radiating from every pore. 'Lanie's just feeding Carey, I'll let her know you're here. She's been hogging my little guy all morning and I know she's excited for visitors.'

Beckett followed him into the nursery and when he opened the door, she hung back just to watch for a moment as the paramedic, equally as big a bad-ass as Ryan or Esposito, all but cooed at his fiancee - Lanie was in the rocking chair, Carey at her breast while she talked to him. Dave bent to kiss her, using that same low murmur he'd greeted Beckett and Castle with.

'Elenia, we have guests.'

Lanie looked over at the doorway, eyes tired but sparkly to see her friend. 'Hey girl.'

'Hey mama.' Beckett walked in, took a seat in the overstuffed . 'Day eleven of parenting, how goes it?'

'Tiring, but amazing. He's already eating and pooping like a champion. Isn't he Dave?' Lanie grinned knowingly over at her fiance, who shook his head as he pulled out a towel and draped it over his shoulder.

'Not enough bleach in the world will make me wear that shirt ever again, my sweet. I don't care if you boil it in vinegar and spray-paint it with Lysol.'

'Carey fired off a warning shot when Daddy was changing him,' Lanie whispered with an 'oops' face, shifting slightly when Carey finished his snack; she passed him to his daddy so she could recover herself with her maternity shirt. 'It's all you, big papa.'

Dave cuddled his against his shoulder, turning to let him see Beckett while she watched, fascinated at how comfortable they both appeared in these new roles. 'Who is that visiting? It's Auntie Katie isn't it?'

'Um, Lanie?' Beckett felt a little jolt when she looked at her friend's beautiful baby's peepers. One was a chocolate brown, the other a muddy green. 'Something's up with his eyes.'

'Oh that.' Lanie stood up, rubbed her hand over Carey's back. She just couldn't get enough of him. 'It's heterochromia. The doctor said that it's nothing to be worried about, his vision is perfect and he has no signs of neurological impairment. It's basically like having a birthmark only instead of it being on his behind or foot, it's the pigmentation of his eye.'

'But you're sure he's okay? I mean, you had that fall.'

'Doctor says this was going to happen from the moment mine and Dave's DNA mixed, and the fall would have caused other problems far more serious than two different coloured eyes.' Lanie kissed the top of her son's head before Dave left to show him off to Castle, then tidied up the nursery a little; she made sure to turn off the monitor above the crib so the guys wouldn't overhear them chatting. 'So tell me about the birthday party. I mean, I know you're not doing it up proper until your big Hamptons party. Junior can come, right?'

'Of course he can.' Beckett combed her fingers through her hair. She felt a tad guilty because Lanie loved celebrating birthdays and she'd be deprived of that this year. Of course, the fact that it would be a wedding instead would probably make up for it. 'We went out for Italian, my favourite, with Martha and my dad and Alexis, and Castle told the waitstaff it was my birthday, so for dessert they gave me complimentary sparkling white wine and tiramisu with mocha gelato. And Alexis gave me a Bench sweater she'd gotten in England, and Castle gave me a Sherlock Holmes anthology, it's a replica of the original printing since the originals go for like five-digits or more.'

'Sounds really nice. Then in July, we'll rip it.'

'You know we will.' Beckett looked around the room, admiring the beautiful mural on the wall. It wasn't quite the scene from _The Lion King_ but that was what made it unique, seeing the silhouettes of the animals. Briefly Beckett thought about a caravan trip for their honeymoon, wondered what Castle would be like for two weeks in the African tall-grass with all the bugs and snakes and other wildlife.

'Kate?'

'Sorry. What?'

'Everything okay?'

'Yeah, just...thinking about wedding stuff.'

'No surprise. When are you guys going to tie the knot?'

Before Beckett could answer, Dave opened the door to the nursery, brought Carey back with him. 'He's fed and burped and wants to visit,' he said.

'Alright, give him over.' Lanie went to take her son, then on an inspiration, she passed him to Beckett. 'Here, your turn, Aunt Katie.'

Since Lanie had already popped him into her arms, Beckett adjusted her hold so the little guy was cuddled against her shoulder. 'Oh, okay. Hi little fella.'

Carey just cooed and Beckett's heart melted; she tensed only a little when she felt him give a little jerk then settle, then jerk, and settle again. She patted his back hoping it would help soothe him. 'So much going on for a little guy, huh?'

'He's my little angel. Come on, let's go get something to drink.'

Beckett walked out behind Lanie, Carey still on her shoulder and when she hit the living room, she wished she'd had a camera for the look on Castle's face. She sat down in the armchair, nestled Carey into the crook of her arm as he continued to hiccup. 'There we are, Carey, now you can see Big Rick over there too, can't you? Yes you can.'

Carey's response was a large sneeze, so big that he scared himself; his face began to crumple as his lower lip trembled. In three seconds, the living room was filled with the sound of a wailing infant. Immediately, Lanie came over to cuddle and soothe, but saw that Beckett already had him on her shoulder and was murmuring to him comfortingly.

'It's okay, Carey, I know, little fella, you just were thinking it'd be a nice easy afternoon and then a bomb goes off, huh? Shh, shh, it's okay, baby.'

Carey's wails subsided into fretful mewls, though Beckett suspected it was because he could smell his mother near by. She put her hand against the back of his tiny head, gently rocked and heard him sigh against her shoulder; Beckett made a sweet pouty face at

Castle could only watch with complete admiration, as he knew Beckett was far outside her comfort zone; though she was good with kids and liked babies she wasn't always so keen on the intimate nature of caring for the really little ones, like the size of Carey. To see how far she'd come in such a short amount of time made him fall in love with her just a little more.

When they got on the elevator, Beckett could still smell the sweet baby-smell of him on her clothes and sighing, took Castle's hand in hers.

'Okay. We can have some.'

* * *

R&R&Enjoy!


	23. Jump: A Finalization

'Dress?'

'Being delivered at two on Wednesday. Oregano.'

'Flowers?'

'Alexis is picking them up at four, on Thursday. She's meeting Sloan at the flower shop and then they are driving out together. Basil.'

Castle passed Beckett the spices she requested, watched as she shook them over the sweet, yeasty dough stretched into the stoneware pan. 'On a scale of one to ten, how much yelling both happy and scary will there be in four days when we tell them all?'

'Those dials go to eleven. Parsley.'

'Oh, saucy.' Knowing she'd appreciate the wordplay, he nudged the bowl of spicy red sauce towards the chef of the night. 'I still think they're going to be very happy.'

'I know they will be. A little cranky that they didn't get to go all super traditional like they did for Meredeth and Javier, but then, those two-'

'Oh, you don't have to tell me. They may act all cool-cat and have that great squeaky-squeaky time together, but they are very much in love the old-fashioned way. If it were my style, I'd write a Sherlock Holmes-esque mystery romance about those two.'

Beckett licked her thumb as she smeared sauce over the pizza dough. 'Squeaky-squeaky time? And you make a living as a writer?'

'You'd prefer I say your detective and his wife bone each other fish?'

'Squeaky-squeaky works for me. What about the towels?'

Before Castle could respond, Alexis burst into the apartment, her face red and puffy; clearly she'd been crying. 'Alexis? What's wrong, angel cakes?' he asked, twin vines of concern and surprise threading in his gut.

'I just need some alone time,' she said through gritted teeth, taking the stairs two at a time. A few seconds later, Castle and Beckett both heard the thud of a slammed door shortly followed by the bass of some very loud music. When he started to get up off his chair at the island, Beckett patted his arm and shook her head. 'Let me?' she asked, going to the freezer and perusing its contents until she found a pint of Haagen-Dazs Cherry Vanilla, then pulled two spoons from the drawer.

Without waiting for a response, she went upstairs and knocked on Alexis' door, hoping it was loud enough to get past the Ludacris blaring from the speakers inside. It was enough as the music stopped and she heard a muffled, 'I'm not in the mood to talk, Dad.'

'It's Kate, and I just thought you might like some ice cream. It always cheered me up when I got dumped.'

The door opened, and Beckett's heart broke as she saw the stains of tears on the girl's face. She held out the spoons. 'Mind if I join you?'

Alexis stepped back in invitation, then closed the door. It was hard for her to imagine the pretty and powerful Beckett ever sobbing into a frozen pint but then, it had also been hard to imagine her father ever finding the courage to act on his attraction to her, and now they were four days away from wedded bliss. She slumped over on her side on her bed, Twigs tucked up under her arm while Beckett sat cross legged on the end of the bed. 'You can start without me.'

'Okay, but I should warn you of two things. One, when I see my girls upset, I've been known to be an occasional sympathetic crier and two, I'm powerless against ice cream, so don't be surprised if you sit up in fifteen minutes and this is all gone.'

At this, Alexis sat up, reached for the second spoon. 'I don't like this flavour. This is my dad's.'

'Good. That way we don't ruin a favourite with break-up tears.'

'He played me.' Alexis licked the spoonful slowly, like it was a lollipop. 'I should have seen it, I should have known it. I'm in pre-med for psychiatry, for god sakes.'

'How did you find out? I thought Yuka was back in California for the summer.'

'We always text each other and I wanted to call him, only when I dialed his number on the train back from Sloan's place, a girl picked up.'

'That's not always-'

'I said, oh sorry, I think I dialed the wrong number, I was looking for Yuka, and she said, yes that's my fiance.' Alexis shuddered out a breath as hot tears of indignation poured from her cheeks. 'Can you believe that? Eight months we're together and it turns out I'm nothing more than a side-dish.'

'That's awfully young to have a fiance,' Beckett commented, pleased when Alexis dug in for another spoon.

'He's twenty-four.'

'Oh.' Beckett flashed back to her semester in Moscow and her torrid affair with Dima; he'd been nearly thirty and she was barely twenty one. Heady stuff for a young woman living away from home for the first time. He'd also been her first lover but she knew for a fact that Alexis hadn't gotten beyond the touching she'd described a few months before. 'I understand the lure of an older man for a young woman, probably better than you think.'

'I just feel like such an idiot!' Now it was anger that seeped out. She set Twigs aside and dug in for a third spoonful. 'I mean, did he really like me like he said he did, or was I just a fling or what?'

'If it were me, the next time you talk to him, just be honest. You called, a woman picked up who said she was your fiancee and you'd like an explanation. Then you kick his ass to the curb and we put a photo of him on the targets at the shooting gallery at the Twelfth and I show you how much fun a SIG P226 can be for stress relief.'

'I'm an old-school Bond fan. I think I'd prefer Beretta or Walther PPK. Thanks, Kate.' Alexis had been through enough of her dad's girlfriends and Gina to know when she was being patronized and one of the detective's best qualities was she always treated her like an actual person instead of an accessory to her father's. 'But I think I want real dinner instead of just sugar.'

'I was making pizza when you got in. Meredeth's dough recipe and everything.'

'Well, twist my arm why don'tcha.'

* * *

Castle had finished off the pizza and had it in the oven when he looked up and saw his two girls coming down the stairs, Alexis still looking out of sorts but far less upset than when she'd gotten home. He'd poured two glasses of pre-dinner wine for himself and his bride-to-be, and made Alexis one of her childhood comfort favourites - orange juice with chocolate syrup and a dash of Coke for fizz. He never understood how the girl could claim to like it, but he knew when she need a 'candy mudslide' and today was one of those days.

'Everything alright?'

'No, but it will be.' Alexis slid onto the bar stool, accepted the glass from her father and sipped through the wide-mouth straw. 'Excellent mixology Dad.'

'Next year when you're twenty-one, I'm replacing the Coke with Jack Daniels.'

'Ew. Kate said you're going over details for Friday?'

'Yes. You've talked to everyone who's going to be there on Thursday, they know that you're the one to talk to?'

'Of course. Now refresh me again on the towel thing.'

* * *

R&R&Enjoy.


	24. Jump: An Excitation

_Hello everyone! Well, we're almost there, we're almost at the big reveal of the wedding news! As you can tell, from the last chapter and this one, we've moved beyond the end of 'Angel Undercover' and are now moving into the next phase. As always, cannot express my gratitude for the love you leave in comment form! Enjoy!_

* * *

It was Thursday night and Beckett couldn't sleep. She knew why. She was getting married the next day. She was going to walk down the stairs of the beach house onto the sand with flowers in her hair and in her hand and make a promise to Richard Castle to love him until the day she died.

She already knew that would happen, but the whole idea of saying it out loud in front of everyone was terrifying.

Sitting on the chair on the balcony of the master bedroom, she watched the moonlight flickering over the water, breathed deep the scent of the shore. When she'd finally given in and gone with him to the house in the Hamptons, it had been love at first sight, the boxy angles of the yellow house with its white gingerbread edging along the roof, the white railed wraparound porch that faced east and north off the kitchen, the boathouse in the green-grassy area of the south property line. It had become, she realized, her happy place, her oasis; whenever the demons of work where piling up in her head and she needed a moment of meditation, she always imagined sitting here on the balcony with the sea breeze smoothing away her worries.

She'd left the sliding door open and heard him stir in the bed. Glancing over, Beckett studied him asleep. It was the one place he finally shut up, she thought with a giggle, but she knew he never shut down completely; a mind like his wasn't wired that way. Perhaps that was why they fit so well together. They just understood that inexplicable part of each other.

Turning back to look at the shore once again, she thought everyone who would be finding out the surprise tomorrow. Of course, the most important guests were already in the house - Alexis and her friend Sloan were chilling for the night in the boathouse while Martha stayed in her usual room and her own dad was in the downstairs guest room off the kitchen. They'd shared barbecued seafood for dinner, a veritable feast of rumaki scallops and garlic-buttered shrimp and lobster rolls - much as they'd wanted to have all of those on the menu for the reception, Lanie so much as sniffed a crab puff and she'd go into anaphylactic shock. So they'd kept it to grilled fish, kobe burgers with truffles and vidalia-chardonnay vinagrette on ciabatta, spanokapita for the veggie-saurses, Asian coleslaw, curried fruit salad and brie en croute. Perfect summer fare.

'Hey.'

Beckett smiled as she heard Castle's sleep-logged voice call to her from inside. She twisted to see he'd gotten up and was coming out to join her. 'Hi.'

'Can't sleep?'

'Too excited.'

'I ate too much at dinner. It always makes me sleepy no matter how excited I am.' He stepped out onto the balcony, sat in the chair beside her. 'You know, these aren't actually Adirondack chairs? They're called Muskoka chairs.'

'What's the difference?'

'Dave explained it to me in May, but I can only remember it has something to do with the curve of where your butt goes. Either way, they're comfy.'

'You think we're rolling the dice, spending the hours leading up to our marriage in each other's company?'

Castle reached over, kissed the hand where she wore her ring. Tomorrow they'd add another one. 'Well, since I met you, I've been in a gun fight with a Nigerian crime-lord, been held hostage by a professional hitman, wagered on a murder investigation, pulled you out of your burning apartment, and have been pranked in the most glorious way since Skippy Langdon gave me the wrong answers to a math test in sixth grade. And that's just naming the greatest hits of our work relationship. That doesn't even include what I've seen you develop into on a personal level and the steps I've seen you take in letting me in. So no, I don't think this is jinxing it, because as I often say, the universe has a way of sorting itself out and things always have a purpose, so I believe we are meant to be sitting here, under the moonlight the night before our wedding. Just like I know that the universe meant for me to screw up fixing up Esposito with Rachel Shepard so that he'd storm out that night and meet the love of his life at a neighbourhood bar over chilli fries and a Blackhawks game.'

'So that's how it actually happened,' Beckett murmured. 'He always says their first date was that movie.'

'It's why Meredeth wears that ring with 'Something funny Pablo' engraved on it. It was the first thing she ever said to him.'

'I think the first thing I said to you was 'you're under arrest'. Right after you offered to sign my breasts with a purple Sharpie.'

'Ah, those were much different times,' Castle chuckled. 'I believe when you got me into Interrogation, I also told you I'd be happy to you let you frisk me.'

'Spank me, actually, were your words.'

'Either way-' he leaned over, pressed his lips to hers, '-you feel like that now?'

Beckett just bit her lip and stood up, taking him by the hand into their bedroom; she remembered to close the sliding doors to the balcony. Sitting him on the edge of the bed, she pulled the loose t-shirt over her head, shimmied her hips so the equally loose shorts slipped to the floor and she stood in front of him in just her panties. Reaching out, she brushed a hand over his face and he grabbed her wrist in his wide, smooth hand; with a turn of his head he placed a sweet kiss to her palm. A few quick moves later and she was lying underneath him on the bed. He slid his hand down between her breasts, felt her heart beat quicken under his touch. Her breasts rose and fell slowly as she breathed deep, taking him in when he cruised his lips over her jaw.

'Katherine Louise Beckett,' he murmured, 'will you marry me?'

'Just name the time and place.'

'Tomorrow, on the beach at sunset. Wear a pink dress and I'll provide the fireworks.'

'It's a date.'

When she smiled, Castle had never seen anything more beautiful in his life.

* * *

It was morning before he knew it, and Castle's usual reaction to sunlight streaming in his bedroom window was replaced with an eye-popping anticipation.

He was getting married today, to the beautiful, intelligent, always-surprising Detective Kate Beckett, the dark-eyed goddess asleep in his arms. He saw the morning sun catching on her diamond and thought about everything it meant to him. To them.

She stirred, stretching lithely as her eyes fought their way open. 'Morning,' she said on a yawn.

'Morning.'

'What time is it?'

'Just after eight.'

'Mm. Time to get up, lots to do. Didn't realize how much actually goes on in the morning of a wedding until Meredeth got married. But more importantly, we need to eat and get dressed and showered for everyone arriving.'

'Yes ma'am. I'll get the coffee started.'

Beckett rolled to her side to let him up, and watched his naked bubble butt walk into the ensuite. 'Hey,' she called after him, then waited until he turned around. 'I love you.'

'Love you too.'

He shut the door, effectively giving Beckett some privacy. She clenched her eyes shut as the giddy grin worked its way onto her face.

It was her wedding day.

* * *

R&R&Enjoy!


	25. Jump: A Revelation

By half-past noon, everyone had arrived and was snacking on the light lunch set out, and for a moment Castle forgot that they were none of them legally related with the exception of Esposito and Meredeth to Lili, Cam and Rosie. Martha was cuddling Carey on her shoulder, extolling the virtues of his bi-coloured eyes while Dave and Esposito talked fantasy baseball. Meredeth and Sloan were eyeball-deep in discussion about their own artistic projects, while by the porch, Honey-Milk and Cam were talking about new certification processes at their respective hospitals. Even Tim and TJ were remembering the bond and the responsibility they'd had from the wedding the previous summer, and had taken to herding Dell and Rosie like they were their own siblings or cousins. They'd all come together somehow and forged this bond that made them into a very unique extended family.

And for him, the centre and the heart of it, was his beautiful bride. She couldn't kick the smile from her face today and he knew it would stay there well into the next day. She'd straightened her hair and put on Bermuda shorts and a loose blouse, he knew, to contrast the impact of her dress that afternoon. It was of the few traditional things they'd agreed upon for their very unconventional wedding - the first time he'd see her in her wedding dress was when she'd walk down the steps towards him.

His watch alarm went off, letting him know that they were at zero hour; draining his lunch-time cocktail, he cleared his throat.

'Excuse me, everyone, everyone needs to head inside for a little party surprise.'

He smiled as they all rounded themselves up, headed into the dining room where there was the most space; he waited until Beckett was the last one left on the porch before taking her hand and going inside with her. 'You nervous?'

'Terrified. You?'

'Shaking like a leaf. But it's worth it to see the looks on their faces in a few minutes.'

Beckett shook her head as they went in, gave his hand an extra squeeze for reassurance. 'However they react, just remember I love you, and my backup piece is in the glove-box of the Crown Vic.'

'I love you too.'

Castle gave her a quick kiss before they stepped into the dining room, saw everyone waiting in anticipation. 'First of all thank you for coming. I know some of you can't stay the whole weekend but it means a great deal that you came today, because it's a very important day for us.'

He glanced over at Beckett, saw the love shining in her eyes as she picked up the torch. 'We invited you all here under the pretext that today was a birthday party for me, but that isn't entirely true.'

'So it's just a party?' Ryan asked, confused.

'Oh no, it's more than just a party,' Castle clarified; his heart was pounding in his chest as he finally, _finally_ got to give away the best secret. 'We're getting married today, on the beach at sunset and we wanted all of you to be here for it.'

'Surprise,' Beckett added in a gleeful little voice.

The room was dead silent as they watched their friends take it in; a pin-drop would have sounded like an explosion it was so quiet. Finally Meredeth spoke up.

'So I made your wedding cake?'

'Yes.'

'And the menu tasting we did was actually for your wedding dinner.'

'Yes,' Beckett repeated.

Meredeth's mouth hung open a moment, then she began to giggle. In a few seconds it turned into a full-on belly laugh, and the others began to join in with her as they realized they'd all been had. While they let out the crazy, Castle gave Alexis a subtle nod, and she disappeared only to return with a few uncorked bottles of champagne and Sloan followed behind her with a few trays of glasses.

'Why didn't you tell us, bro?' Esposito asked, linking hands with Meredeth.

'Well, with the unexpected announcement and arrival of Carey, we thought keeping things quiet might be good so that we wouldn't have to divide focus, you know?'

Beckett glanced over, saw Lanie with a strange look on her face. 'Lanie?'

'You did your wedding this way because of me? So you could be there for me and Dave'

'Yeah.'

On a sob, Lanie popped up from her chair and wrapped her arms around Beckett's midriff. 'I oughta smack you into next week. You didn't let us get to do any of the girly stuff we did with Meredeth. I know it's not your style but every girl needs some pampering when she's going to be..a bride.' Lanie squeaked out the words before she dissolved into ears on Beckett's shoulder. 'And what about a dress and flowers and food and the paperwork and everything?'

'We've gotten it all taken care of. Markaway is going to be here for six pm and perform the ceremony, all the flowers are in the basement staying cool so they didn't wilt, Meredeth got the wedding cake made and the caterers will be here soon to start doing their thing, hell even Sloan Machado is here to do the photography.'

'What about bridesmaids and ushers?' Ryan asked.

'No bridesmaids or ushers, just a maid of honour and a best man. I already asked Alexis to be the maid of honour, but Castle kinda had to wait to ask the best man,' Beckett explained, gave him a little nudge in the ribs.

'Right. After some careful consideration, I'd like to ask Gil to stand up there with me.'

Staggered, Gil pressed a hand to his chest. 'I'm honoured, but why?'

'Because you took a hard blow to the heart and not only recovered from it but fell in love all over again and are making a family with someone you met in a most unexpected way, and to me, that is very inspiring. So what do you say?'

'So long as I don't have to give a speech, I'm good with it.' Gil stepped over, dapped knuckles with Castle. 'And I won't flirt with the maid of honour, either.'

Alexis and Sloan had finished filling and distributing the champagne glasses, and finally passed one each to Beckett and Castle. 'Now it's my turn to say something,' she said. 'I know this isn't what any of you expected coming today but I think we can all agree on one thing, that today is a day for celebrating love. I love you Dad, and I love you Kate.'

They all clinked glasses and once they'd drained them, Castle slapped his hands together. 'Okay, it's half-past one and the ceremony is at seven, so, hair and make-up for the girls is in the main house and the men will be in the boathouse, with the exception of Carey because he needs to stay with Mom.'

The crowd dispersed and as they made their way to the places they needed to be, Beckett turned so her body was pressed against Castle's. 'We did it,' she grinned, giving him a light nip on his lower lip. 'We pulled off the surprise. And that's not even the best part of today.'

'Go get ready you. Look for the handsome guy in the pink shirt in a few hours on the beach.'

You got it.'

'One more thing.' Castle ran his hands over her arms. 'I love you.'

'Love you too.'

* * *

R&R&Enjoy.


	26. Jump: A Preparation

The next few hours were a blur, but Beckett managed to take it all in, commit it to memory somehow. They'd opted to use the spacious master bedroom for doing her hair - Castle and Beckett had asked a local hair stylist well-versed in Hamptons weddings to take care of their special day - and Beckett had been seated in a chair like the queen with Meredeth painting her fingernails and Honey-Milk her toes to match her dress. Her hair was done in loose angel waves and waiting for the addition of white hibiscus. Alexis and Sloan had already finished dressing and as they were preparing the beachfront for the ceremony itself, they wouldn't be found until almost the time of the ceremony. Beckett had protested but Alexis being Alexis assured her she would be ready and waiting for when Beckett needed her last accessory - her bouquet, which had been laid out with the other flowers on the kitchen table.

'Cannot wait to see you in that beautiful pink dress,' Lanie commented, finishing zipping up her own dress and moving on to put Carey in his best romper. 'Did you go to the same place Meredeth did for hers?'

'Yes. They already had my measurements on file and they fit the budget.'

'Why no white?' Meredeth asked, stroking the little lacquer brush over Beckett's thumbnail. 'Because of the water and sand?'

'No.' Beckett told Meredeth the story of her mother and father, saw Meredeth's eyes fill but they cleared quickly. 'That beautiful simplicity and happiness, that's what I want my wedding to be.'

'Well, no fear of that. You managed to keep it a secret for nine months. That takes some serious will power.'

Beckett smiled, looked around at her friends. 'You're not really mad that I didn't tell you guys what we were really planning, are you?'

'A little, but mostly because we didn't get to get you all liquored up for a bachelorette party like we did with Meredeth.' Lili finished blow-drying her nails as she kept an eye on Rosie in the middle of the bed. 'Will we be able to have this room all tidied up for your big honey-moon night?'

'Oh yeah, Alexis and Sloan have it all arranged. It will be boudoir perfect by the time it's time for the consummation,' Meredeth giggled, wiggling her eyebrows. 'That was one of the best parts of my wedding.'

Lili nodded in agreement as she remembered her own wedding night - the first time she'd made love with Cam, and he'd been her only lover. He'd called it the most precious moment of his life, and the only thing that had knocked it from that lofty pedestal was the birth of Rosie.

'I have to confess, though, I suspected there might be something going on,' Honey-Milk confessed, 'when Meredeth mentioned a tasting menu for a birthday party. Then I figured, Castle also bought a twelve-hundred dollar cappuccino maker for the Homicide floor of the Twelfth, so not too much of a stretch to think he'd have you doing something like that. There. Ten pink piggies.'

'Piggies,' Rosie said from her spot on the bed, playing with soft foam blocks. 'Piggies ink ink, Mami?'

'That's right, Rosie, piggies say oink oink.' Lili picked up her daughter, set her on her hip. 'And now it's time for your dress, _cari_.'

Lanie saw the look on Beckett's face as she finished her own make-up in the mirror and smiled. 'I heard you and Castle agreed on 'some', Katie.'

'Two. It's a compromise. But for the first little while, I just want to be just us,' she started, then stopped when there was a knock on the door and her father's voice came through.

'Katie? I just spoke to Castle and they're about ten minutes away from being ready and seating everyone.'

'Okay.'

'I have something I want to give you, can I come in?'

Beckett nodded at Honey-Milk, who unlocked the door and Jim, in pressed chinos and a white shirt came in, a box in his hand. His throat clogged as he saw his daughter in her beautiful pink dress. She looked so much like his lovely lost Johanna it made him want to weep a little. 'Sweetheart, you look so beautiful,' he managed in a low gruff voice as he crossed to her and passed her the box. 'Here. I thought you might like to have it to wear as your something old.'

Beckett lifted the lid, and let a little tear slip out as she saw it - the gold anklet Johanna Beckett had been wearing in the picture that had inspired her daughter's wedding dress. 'Oh, Daddy. I thought Mom lost this years ago?'

'She nearly did, on that trip where you took the picture of us together. After she got the clasp fixed, she put it in the safety deposit box, saying she wanted to keep it safe for you, so you could wear it for a special occasion. I figured today's as special as it gets.'

Jim knelt and fastened the thin chain around his daughter's ankle, then stood up. 'I think it's time to head downstairs and get your flowers. Alexis is already there waiting.'

The women all filed out, and Jim gave his daughter a look. 'No shoes?'

'No shoes. You'll see.'

They went down to the kitchen to see Alexis in a powder pink dress with a white hibiscus pinned above her right ear, standing beside the table that had been picked clean of its flowers - each woman got a small corsage of purple or white or peach hyacinths with some greenery while the men had gotten them in boutonniere form. Now that it was just Jim, Alexis and Beckett, Alexis lifted the tops off of two florist boxes, one long, the other square.

'Have a seat for two minutes, Kate.'

Beckett complied and realized Alexis was pinning her own flowers to her hair, a halo of white hibiscus that hugged the crown of her head, then felt the weight of a bouquet in her hand. She looked down, saw there was more hibiscus in her hands, a multicoloured waterfall of white and pink, purple and peach; only Castle, she thought, only he would know what it meant to have these flowers in her hands on this day.

'Ta-da,' Alexis said with a flourish, holding up a mirror for Beckett to study herself and for a moment Beckett almost didn't recognize her reflection - her lips were shell pink, glossy and soft and her eyes were softer, without the searching cop look in them. Today she didn't see Detective Beckett, she just saw Katie, the girl who would marry Richard. 'You look so beautiful, Kate. My dad's going to fall in love with you even more when he sees you.'

'Indeed he will.'

Alexis stepped to the doors of the porch, heard the music they'd selected begin; the strains of Israel Kamakawiwo'ole's acoustic rendition of 'Over the Rainbow' drifted into the Hamptons sunset. 'That's our cue.'

Looping her arm through her father's, Beckett watched as Alexis walked barefoot around the corner of the house and counted to five. 'I love you Dad,' she murmured, praying she wouldn't ruin her make-up.

'I love you too, Katie-Lou. Your mother would be very proud of the man you've chosen.'

Beckett smiled and nodded. 'I love him very much. And I don't want to keep him waiting any longer.'

Flowers in her hand and hair, Beckett walked out of the house.

* * *

R&R&Enjoy!


	27. Jump: The Ceremony

_So here we are! The most anticipated wedding in Crumbsian history (i'm guessing)! And be forewarned, tissues are a necessity, as I was sniffling when I wrote this. Enjoy!_

* * *

Castle felt the sun warm on his face as he stood beside Judge Markaway. He was wearing snow-white Indian cotton pants and a linen oxford in the palest shade of pink; peeking out of the breast pocket was a pink handkerchief to match the colour of Beckett's dress alongside a snowy white hibiscus. Underneath, he made little fists with his toes in his pristine white towel as he waited for his bride.

The towels had been Alexis' idea. They knew they needed some kind of favour for their guests - Ryan and Honey-Milk's reception had been wineglasses etched with shamrocks, inside which had been engraved their initials and the date of their wedding. Meredeth and Esposito had also done wineglasses with the Spanish, Danish and English words for 'love' inside a trio of hearts. But Alexis pointed out they would be on the beach and that standing would be uncomfortable on the feet and sitting meant sand in places sand wasn't meant to go. So they'd ordered fluffy white towels with the guests' name embroidered on one edge, purple for the ladies and peach for the men, and on the other edge Castle and Beckett's initials along with the date of the wedding in pink. Not only would they serve as mementos for the wedding but another, more practical purpose: Alexis and Sloan had arranged them on the combed beach in front of the house as the 'chairs' for the guests and each one found his or her place by finding their name. Even Dell, Rosie and little Carey had gotten their own; Carey had been wrapped in his and Dell insisted on tying his over his shoulders like a Superman cape.

'I have to say, Rick,' Markaway commented, 'I always knew you two kids would get together, ever since the night she came to play poker with us. I'm just glad it didn't take you for freakin' ever.'

'Some would disagree on that score, Judge,' Castle replied, scythe-wielding butterflies zipping around in his stomach.

'Please, Rick, I'm doing the service for your wedding. Call me Isaiah.'

'For a moment I thought you were actually going to say 'Ishmael',' he joked, then lost all spit in his mouth when everyone rose as the gorgeous ukulele rendition of 'Over the Rainbow' came through the speakers Alexis and Sloan had discreetly set up on the porch. With a pounding heart, he watched as Alexis came around the side of the house, and for a moment felt a bit of melancholy as he watched her take Gil's arm; he'd been waiting by the stairs to escort her up the aisle created by the towels. Castle felt his eyes well up a little as he knew it would one day be his turn to walk Alexis down the aisle. His protective papa-bear roared a little in his cage as he saw Gil kiss her cheek and made her blush red as her hair.

Then all thoughts were gone from his head as he saw the woman coming around the side of the house.

She was, if such a thing existed, perfection defined. Her long dark hair waved and curled over her shoulders, fluttering as the light breeze danced past the house, and was haloed by white flowers. Her dress was beautiful - a rich topaz pink silk with a French innocence neckline and the addition of spaghetti straps; the bodice skimmed her narrow hips and flared into a knee-length ballgown silhouette. A hint of gold winked at her ankle and she was barefoot as she walked towards him, that delicate smile on her face belying the eagerness he saw in her eyes.

When she reached the altar, her smile only faltered a little as her father kissed her cheek in support.

'If there is anyone here who has reason why these two should not be joined on this day, let them come forth now,' Markaway said to the congregation; no one so much as coughed, and he continued. 'Who presents this woman in marriage?'

'I do,' replied Jim, and unlooped his daughters arm from his before he stepped back onto his father of the bride towel.

'Let us be seated.'

Everyone took their place on their towels; even the bride and groom - they knelt as if to pray facing each other, as did Alexis and Gil while Markaway gave the speech he'd prepared in private with his favourite cop and writer.

'Friends and family, we've gathered together today to celebrate the union of Kate and Rick. Life often takes us into unexpected places and we often find ourselves questioning how in the world we ended up there. And sometimes, just as unexpectedly, love can come from those places, the kind of love we never thought we'd find. The kind that makes us want to take the other down a peg or two,' he said with a smile, making everyone laugh, 'the kind that sticks with us through our brightest times and our darkest hours. And wherever we find it, love must always be celebrated.'

Alexis nodded as she took a little folded bit fo paper from her pocket and began her own speech. Since they weren't going to have a traditional reception either, the words she'd thought to use between dinner courses would now be in the ceremony. 'Family is defined, most simply as a unit sharing a common attribute, whether. In the past few years, I've seen my father find a family at the Twelfth precinct, and that family has grown and changed as we all have, many of you becoming parents, including you Kate, so this is for you.' Alexis cleared her throat as she recited the Karl Fuchs poem she'd found on the Internet. 'I'll love my mother all my days,  
for enriching my life in so many ways. She sets me straight and then sets me free, and that's what the word "mother" means to me'.

Both Beckett and Castle pressed their hands to their mouths to keep the avalanche of tears from falling and ruining the moment; it was one thing to gracefully weep at a wedding, it was another to wail and sob, especially when it was your own. The words were so simple yet so powerful they packed a wallop like a freight-train that they could hear everyone watching sniffling their little hearts out. Even the judge had to take a moment before continuing.

'At this time we will exchange vows and rings. Kate, when you're ready.'

Beckett nodded, traded her bouquet for the engraved band from Alexis to hold in one hand while she held Castle's in her other. 'I, Kate, do promise you, Richard, to love and honour you, to laugh and cry with you, to be a mother to Alexis and the other children we will make together. I promise I will do my best to make it home one piece, and I will always make you pancakes,' she said with a wink as she slid the band onto his finger. 'From now until the day I die.'

Castle swallowed tightly, squeezed her hand. He turned to accept the ring from Gil, which Alexis had given him to hold before the ceremony. 'I Richard, do promise you, Kate, to love and honour you, to laugh and cry with you, to be a father to Alexis and the other children we will make together. I promise I'll try to stay in the car when you tell me to, and I will always bust down a door to save your life.' Castle slipped the ring over her finger, and because he couldn't resist, pressed his lips to her knuckles. 'From now until the the day I die.'

'By the power vested in me by the State of New York, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.'

* * *

R&R&Enjoy.


	28. Jump: A Celebration

By the time they'd finished with pictures of every possible combination of guests, everyone was ready to eat their own foot off, but thankfully the sumptuous feast they'd ordered from the caterers was ready to go. As they were served from the buffet line by the black-tie dressed waitstaff, and Beckett had her brie-and-bacon kobe burger on her plate along with her Asian slaw and curried fruit salad, she let out a little laugh.

'Something funny?' Castle asked her as they laid out their towels on the sand by the foot of the stairs.

'I was just thinking about the first night we spent together. We had burgers then too.'

'From Remy's. You had the turkey-beef blend with honey-mustard, Swiss cheese, lettuce and extra onions.'

'And you had the all-beef with Portobello mushrooms, cheddar and barbecue sauce.'

'Bam said the lady, you're good.'

Beckett reached over, swiped the dab of cherry barbecue sauce from the corner of his mouth with her thumb, licked it off her finger. 'I'm your wife, I can do things like that now,' she said with a grin before biting into her own burger. 'Oh, God that's so good,' she moaned.

'Oh, please tell me you're going to sound like that later tonight,' Castle said in a husky voice, on a rush that made her laugh again.

'Depends on what we're up to.'

'Hey, great wedding so far you guys.'

Beckett glanced over to see Meredeth, an orange cocktail of some kind in her hand as she sat on the top step. 'Thank you for the cake.'

'Just remember the treats that go with that cake. I told you about at Christmas' Meredeth said.

'Ah yes.'

'What treats?' Feeling like the kid left out of the punchline, Castle looked from his wife to his friend and back. 'What treats?'

'Castle, do you have soundproofing in the master bedroom?' Meredeth asked with a saucy glint in her eye.

'Uh-uh.'

'Then I sure as hell hope the guests brought earplugs.' When Meredeth heard Esposito calling her name, she went back up the stairs, leaving Beckett a little confused.

'We're not spending the night in the boathouse?'

'No. I want our first night together as husband and wife to be in our bed.'

'Our bed is back in SoHo.'

Castle polished off his burger, started on the fruit salad. 'You know what I mean. Besides, if we play tradesies on the boathouse, you know who's going to end up in the main house right? The trying-for-a-baby Espositos.'

'Oo.' Beckett made a face. 'Yeah, better leave those animals in a separate cage.'

'Darlings!'

Martha made her appearance this time, clearly having gotten into the champagne early; she wasn't sloppy drunken but her smile was a little wider than usual. 'Oh, you make a beautiful bride, you've got the blush built into your dress, my dear,' she said, crouching to wrap her arms around her new daughter-in-law. 'It was just lovely, everything I hoped for you two. I won't be able to stay the overnight, unfortunately, as I can't get anymore time off on the play.'

'I'm sorry to hear that.'

'You won't be sorry tomorrow morning. It's the one part of the wedding I feel bad for the couple about. Everyone there knows you'll be up all night because you're-'

'Dave! Where's Lanie?' Castle interrupted loudly, not needing or wanting to hear another word from his mother on the discussion of 'wedding nights'. 'Did you get called in?'

'No, no, she's upstairs in the guest room with Carey, he's going to be waking for his first night feeding soon and wanted to know if you'd object to me taking a plate upstairs for her.'

'Of course not. Here, let me help you.'

Beckett nearly squawked as Castle took his plate and darted up the stairs with his friend, effectively leaving her with her new mother-in-law half in the bottle with sex on the brain. But then, on a night like tonight with steamy breezes blowing in, wine and dancing on the beach soon all within the bubble of the wedding, who wouldn't? 'Martha, I ah...thank you, for everything.'

'Oh, no need to thank me, I'm sure I've just embarrassed you enough for the weekend, haven't I?' Martha kissed Beckett's cheek briskly, patted the sheen of lip prints she'd left behind. 'Congratulations again, Katie dear. You'll keep my son in line and you'll love him to death.'

'I already do.'

Beckett finished off her plate, then went back up the stairs and chatted amongst the guests, who were clearly just as thrilled as she was with a shore-side wedding, and through the crowd of people, she saw Castle - her husband - coming back from his trip upstairs. When he caught her eye and made his way over, he was already full of apology.

'I'm sorry, but I thought being a woman, you'd-'

He was cut off when Beckett held her finger to his lips, then gave him a steamy, juicy kiss. 'I love you.'

'I love you too.'

* * *

When the time came for their first dance, the guests were not at all surprised to find this detail had been taken care of as well - there were collapsible fabric beach chairs set up around the perimeter of a small dance floor in the combed sand; the edges were marked by fragrantly-oiled tiki-torches that provided more than enough light on the hot summer night. A bar had been set up at the edge of the stairs and the sound system still set up from the ceremony had been pre-programmed with a playlist for the dance.

Everyone gather around the edges of the 'dance floor' as the bride and groom's first dance song played over the speakers - for a pair of true New Yorkers, they'd decided on Frank Sinatra's version of 'The Way You Look Tonight'. The instrumental had played at the charity ball they'd infiltrated undercover on the home-invasion murders; Beckett had let herself dream a little about what it'd be like to be held in his arms as a woman. As his woman.

As Castle circled in the sand with Beckett in his arms, he smiled at her. It reminded him of the way they'd danced at the same charity ball his new wife was thinking of and how when he'd held her in his arms, she was already a perfect fit. He twirled her into a spin, drew her back into his arms to breath deep her scent - Japanese cherry blossom, saved only for special occasions. 'You are a very good dancer, Mrs Detective Beckett-Castle.'

'It's easier when I'm in heels.'

'Easier?'

'Yeah, to do this.' Beckett stretched onto the tips of her toes, kissed him deeply. 'I love you.'

'I love you too.'

As the song ended, Beckett blinked. 'Do you hear that?'

'Hear what?'

'It sounds like-'

She was cut off when she heard the pop and boom above her head. Glancing up, she saw the firework burst into the shape of two silver linked hearts with the numbers 7 and 3 in the middle of each one. 'What's that for?' she asked as more went off, greens and purples and pinks and yellows and more.

Castle only grinned. 'I told you, you wear a pink dress and I'll provide the fireworks.'

* * *

R&R&Enjoy!


	29. Jump: A Seduction III

By one-thirty, only those people staying the rest of the weekend were left, and they were comfortably wrapped in their monogrammed towels as they sat around a campfire. They'd eaten cakend every last scrap of the buffet, and since they were full-bellied, Castle decided it was the perfect time for him and Beckett to begin their 'alone time' portion of their wedding night. A blush painted her cheeks when she'd gotten knowing looks from her friends, and had said as much to Castle the moment they were in the house.

'They _know_, you know, why we left the party early,' Beckett said as she followed Castle upstairs to their room. 'It's unsettling to think that they know what we're doing up here.'

'Kate, none of them are blushing virgins, especially Javi and Mere. Also, correct me if I'm wrong but who was the one texting Lanie after our first time together?'

'She wanted to make sure I was home safely, and I couldn't lie to her. It's not like I said I just finished banging Castle's brains out.'

'There was no need to. She's a smart woman and probably figured it out herself when she left before you did,' Castle said with a smile; he paused outside the door, and before Beckett had time to ask him what he was up to, she was in his arms like Rhett and Scarlett. Of course he'd be this traditional, she thought with a giggle, when he opened the door and carried her through. She imagined she was one of the few people in the world who knew what an old-fashioned romantic he could be. The look of pride on his face as he set her back to her feet and closed the door behind him made her almost wish she had a lace hankie to wave herself with - he'd literally swept her off her feet.

The giggle turned into a gasp as she saw the room and what had been done for the, courtesy of Alexis and Sloan, though Beckett didn't even want to think about the whole new level of awkward that presented for her step-daughter. The bed had been turned down and was covered in pale-pink satin sheets. Dozens of candles in pink and white were waiting to be lit, while a silver bucket of champagne sat beside an overflowing fruit bowl and two flutes. Around the bed were scatter white and pink rose petals and the air was heady with the fragrance of hibiscus.

'Look at his,' Castle murmured, understanding what it must have cost his daughter's sensibilities to create such a romantic atmosphere for them, and yet knowing his child, he knew she wanted everything to be as close to perfect for them as possible.

He moved to kiss her, but she backed away from him, tapping his chest with her index finger. 'I have something for you,' she said in a husky whisper. 'I hope you like it.'

Beckett disappeared into the ensuite, leaving Castle time to set the mood. He'd brought her favourite disc of soft R&B instrumental music and had it murmuring on the room's hidden stereo system, then fished his gift for her out of the inside zipper pouch of his suitcase, prayed she'd like it. He'd just sat down on the edge of the bed when the door to the ensuite opened and a vision stepped out; Castle immediately felt all the blood drain from his head into his lap.

She'd again gone with pink; it was only fitting, as her wedding dress had been pink. Here it was a powder, pearly colour, in a body-hugging, thigh-skimming merry-widow that shaped her petite bosom and accentuated the length of her legs. Her legs, he noted, which were in sheer stockings the same colour and attached with wire-thin garters to the hem of her lingerie. She'd pinned her hair up so the waves were anchor just above the nape of her neck, exposing the long slim column of her throat.

'So? Do I look like a woman worthy of Richard Castle's fantasies?'

'Not _a_ woman. _The _woman. _My _woman,' he corrected her, standing up and crossing to her. 'My beautiful wife.'

'And my very...happy husband,' Beckett returned when she felt him press his hips against hers. 'Really? A little lace and wires is all it takes?'

'When the lace and wires look like that on you.'

He kissed her then, fully and deeply, like he'd wanted to since they'd said their vows. His hands went to her hips covered in soft fabric and he could still smell her soap - Japanese cherry blossom - on her skin. Her mouth was warm and soft beneath his and as much as he wanted to devour her in great big greedy bites, this first time together as husband and wife would be just as it had been their first time - seductive and surrendering. He tugged at her hair and the mink-brown locks tumbled from the pins like a waterfall over her pale, narrow shoulders. She had such lovely shoulders, so strong and yet so delicate.

Beckett sighed as she felt his hands on her body, and let hers drift to his chest, slowly sliding the buttons out of the buttonholes until it hung loose on him, and she could see hints of his chest and his stomach. She slipped the fabric off him, so he was naked to the waist and she ran her hands over him, kneading his flesh with her fingers. Solid and manly in the purest sense of the words, she thought, her head rolling back on her shoulders, and she shuddered when his lips traced down her throat, up her back.

'This time, there's a zipper,' she teased him in a husky voice.

'I see that, or feel that.'

He drew it down, slid one strap from her shoulder, then the other. When he moved his hands over her bank, down her ass, he lifted an eyebrow. 'You seem to have skipped something.

'No I didn't.' Beckett grinned when she saw the look on his face. 'That cake Meredeth made us, she told me to remember that her Heart of Chelios cake always gets served with some very 'x-rated treats', and I figured no panties with my lingerie could be one of them.'

'Remind me to buy her a Ferrari.'

Cupping her bottom, he boosted her up around his waist,, popped the hooks of the garters on the backs of her thighs. With a turn and a tumble, she was underneath him on the bed, breathing deeply so her breasts rose and fell. Running his hand down her center, he flicked the hooks of her stockings on the front of her thighs and focused his attention on peeling one stocking down her long leg, then the other. He tugged on her hand to sit her back up and she attacked his zipper as he finished his work on the merry-widow. When he leaned into her, stretched out on top of her, both were completely naked and nearly shaking with anticipation of what came next.

'Where do we start tonight,' he murmured, dabbing at her lips with his. He could feel her heart pounding underneath his touch. His wife's heart, he thought with a soft smile.

Beckett groaned as she felt the solid length of him pressed against her. She wanted him inside her, joined in body as they were now joined in heart and soul, but tonight, she wanted to take the time to treasure it for what it was - making love for the first time with her husband. She dug her fingers into his back to pull him close so she could whisper in his ear.

'Anywhere we want to.'

* * *

R&R&Enjoy.


	30. Jump: A Seduction IV

_Don't think it needs to be said on the heels of the last chapter but this is mos-def NSFW! Clutch your pearls and get your ice water at home on this one!_

* * *

Beckett arched her back off of the bed as Castle's lips trailed over her jaw to nibble at her ear. The feel of it had a shiver going through her body, making her nipples harden against his chest, the heat between her thighs increase. He had such a wicked mouth and he knew just where to use it on her to make her feel like the most beautiful woman in the world.

Castle slid his gaxze to her face, saw the languid pleasure in her eyes and took a deep, contented breath. He loved her most like this, sweet and soft, still his Beckett, but a Beckett who'd given herself over to the moment and just let herself feel.

'Kate,' he murmured, 'I love you.'

'I love you too, Rich.'

_Rich. _That nickname she'd given him their first night together was something he valued more than anything else in their intimacy. It was a first she'd given him, something he'd confessed the night he'd told her he loved her for the first time. Now he wanted to give that precious feeling back to her, by showing her just what she meant to him and what their love meant to him. He danced his fingertips up and down her sides until he brushed the under-curve of her breast, then moved down her body to taste it before moving up to the center, to take that sweet, heated peak into his mouth.

Her sigh was long and slow as he tasted her and her hips ground against his in little urgencies; then her cry was sharp and bright as he laved his tongue over her, the movement quick and unexpected. With her head still spinning at the sudden sensation, he moved to the other one. Now her cry was caught between an oath and a moan as her fingers twined through his hair and he felt her pull him tight against her. When he felt her thighs shift and open even more for him, he pressed her into the bed with his weight.

'You taste so delicious, Kate. Here-' he kissed her lips '-and here-' he moved down to the valley between her breasts '-and here-' he laid his lips just below her navel 'and most of all here.' He kissed the inside of her thigh before moving to where she wanted him most. He used his tongue on her to taste and pleasure, pleased when he heard her loud oath.

'Fuck.' Beckett didn't often swear during sex unless she was in a very angry-passionate mood, so when she did, it meant he was driving her out of her mind with whatever he was doin gto her body and tonight was no exception. She swore she could feel every bump of his tongue, every groove of his lips as he used his mouth - that magical, wicked mouth - on her so that she could actually feel her eyes roll back in her head when she clutched at the bedsheets until her knuckles went white. 'Don't stop, please don't stop.'

His only response was to increase his speed, make her whimper in delight, and she could feel the addition of one of his fingers against her, then two. Before her mind could register what was happening to her body, Beckett felt him part her heated lips and spear his tongue inside her; this time it wasn't an oath, but nearly a scream.

'God!'

The orgasm took her by surprise in its sudden appearance, and her back arched sharply off the bed; she was brought back to earth as the rivers of sensation washed through her by Castle's hands gripping her hips to steady her. Her hands flung out wildly, gripping the rails of the headboard as his pace slowed before he stopped entirely and lifted his head from between her thighs, pillowed his cheek against her lower abdomen to catch his breath.

'You're so good, Rich,' she managed between gasping breaths. 'I...I have no words for it.'

'And we haven't even hit the main event event.' Swiping the back of his hand delicately over his mouth, Castle rose to his knees and went for his bedside table drawer; he'd refreshed his stash of condoms the moment they'd arrived the day before so he wouldn't be caught shorthanded on his wedding night. But when he reached for the handle, Beckett grabbed his wrist. 'Kate?'

'Not tonight.'

'Really?'

'Really. The first time, I want it to be just you and me.'

Castle merely nodded, stretched himself back out on top of her to give her a chance to rest. He didn't want her orgasms overlapping each other. Any other time, even the second time he knew they'd get to tonight, it would be fine, but this very first time together, he wanted to feel everything with her. Brushing his hand down the side of her face, she kept her eyes on his as he placed his palm on hers and linked their fingers, drew their joined hands down to where they were pressed so intimately together and he shuddered when he felt her take him in her hands and helped guide him inside. Her hand fell away and he slipped into her, his eyes never leaving hers. Her hips arched against his in slow, deep strokes, each one making his wife sigh a little more.

Beckett rarely used the word 'perfect', but this moment, on her wedding night and the feeling of being joined with her husband for the first was an absolutely perfect moment. She locked her legs over his hips to keep him close to her, the feeling of 'big Rick' heightened and tantalizing. She felt the orgasm build inside this time, a magnetic force drawing every pleasurable sensation into the centre of her body until finally, finally it burst through her like fireworks, lust and love for him spinning through every cell of her being.

Castle heard his name on her lips and watched her face as she came, her muscles clenching tightly around him. He knew he had good stamina, but the moment, the importance of making love with her tonight superseded everything else. Her body arched and held against his, and the feeling of her lust-hardened nipples, her soft skin, her mouth beneath his now, had him surrendering. Turning his face against her throat, he murmured her name and let himself fly.

They lay together, wrapped around and wrapped up in each other, chests rising and falling as they tried to steady their breathing.

'That was, far and away, the best we've ever been together,' Castle sighed, his lips sticking a little to her dewy skin. He felt her head bob as she nodded in agreement.

'The best,' she echoed, and was surprised when she felt her throat close up. She tried to speaking without her voice wobbling, but to no avail and was shocked when a little droplet of water snaked its way out of her eye and down her cheek.

'Kate?' Castle propped himself to his elbow, concerned for her. 'Did I hurt you?'

'Not at all, it's just...this is the most romantic day of my life.'

'Oh, my love.' He kissed her cheek, swiped away the tear. 'Don't cry. If you're going to cry, make it worth your while, like Lanie's singing or Esposito's cooking. That would make anyone wail like a cat on a fence.'

She laughed and to her relief her eyes dried. 'God I love you, Richard Castle. Hey, I have a question.'

'What's that?'

'Who gets to thank Meredeth for that lovely x-rated treats inspiring cake she made for us? Not it!'

Castle just shook his head. 'Damn it!'

* * *

R&R&Enjoy!


	31. Jump: The Beginning

The next morning, Beckett awoke with the sunlight streaming in on her face, her cheek pillowed against her husband's chest as it rose and fell with sleep. She looked at her rings, now both on her left hand and smiled. Richard Castle, my husband, she thought as her heart fluttered wildly with love for him. Who'd have thought it?

Cuddling against him, she felt his arm around her body keeping her close. Usually Castle liked to sprawl when he slept, but on those rare occasions, he was snuggled up like a champion cuddle-bug against her and their wedding night was one of those rare and special occasions.

Her stomach gave a loud gurgle; glancing at the clock, she saw it was nearly ten in the morning, though she wasn't really surprised. They hadn't fallen asleep until nearly five in the morning. After the first time together, they'd sipped champagne and eaten fruit, thought about all the funny and romantic things they'd seen over the course of the dance - Meredeth and Esposito embracing sweetly, Ryan trying to show Honey-Milk how to waltz, Lanie and Dave taking turns holding Carey while the other danced; Beckett had held him close so that the new parents could have a dance or two together. Alexis and Sloan had shown Tim and TJ how to two-step in the sand, and they'd watch TJ experience his first crush when Sloan gave him a hug for being such a gentleman and not stepping on her toes. Even Dapper Dell, as Castle had taken to calling him, had gotten in on the romance of the night and kissed little Rosie on the cheek. Once finished with their fruit and giddy on champagne, they'd wrapped themselves in their towels and making sure no one was left on the beach, they'd sneaked out of the house and made love on their bride and groom towels, in the exact same spot where they'd said their vows.

Becket thought about trying to sit up when Castle's sighing breaths turned into a small groan; he stretched and blinked, smiling at his wife. Who knew when she'd hauled him in for questioning they'd end up here? 'Morning, my lovely wife,' he said with a smile.

'Morning, my handsome husband.'

'You been awake long?'

'No. But I'm glad you're up now. I have something for you.'

Castle watched her scamper out of their big comfy marital bed, over to her luggage on wheels; she knelt in the bed beside him, offering him a small wrapped package. 'I hope you like it. I don't have the personal funds for the big and over the top like you sometimes do with the gift-giving but-'

She was cut off when he held a finger to her lips. 'If it's from you, it's already worth its weight in gold.' Castle ripped into the paper, lifted the lid of the gift box and felt his heart melt. It was a silver tie pin with a replica of an NYPD badge on it, the numbers one-one-two-seven-three engraved below the crest. Her initials, he thought, K and B, along with their anniversary - July third.

'I figured being married to a cop, and doing the work you do with us, you deserve your own badge and badge number,' she said, a little bashfully.

'It's the best gift I've ever received. I love it,' he told her honestly and earnestly before kissing her. Setting the box down and wishing he had an excuse to wear a tie today, he reached over in his bedside table and pulled out her gift. 'Your turn.'

Beckett untied the ribbon around the blue Tiffany box, wondering just what he'd picked out for her to wear. Some ridiculously expensive rope of sapphires, or pearls, she imagined, maybe rare sunstone earrings. She'd taken to wearing earrings more often lately.

Or not jewelery at all, she realized, pulling the engraved silver frame out of the tissue paper. It was a black and white photograph of them at Ryan and Honey-Milk's wedding reception, smiling at each other. Beckett remembered the moment exactly - she'd been trying to teach Castle how to two-step and he'd finally gotten it right; she'd been so pleased he hadn't trampled her toes, she'd nearly leaned in and kissed him. Even in the photograph, she could see the sparkle in her eye, and in his, that sizzling chemistry that was so uniquely theirs.

'This was the moment I knew I couldn't wait any longer to kiss you,' he told her simply. 'But I wanted our first kiss to be just you and me alone together, which was why I waited until the end of the night.'

Beckett brushed her fingertips over the glass protecting the photograph, saw the engraving on bottom of the frame - _For Dancing Soon Becomes Romancing_, a line from a song in her favourite movie of all time, _White Christmas_. 'I love it, and I love you.' She kissed him sweetly once, twice. 'You know what else I love?'

'What?'

'Bacon. And toast, and coffee, and Meredeth's cinnamon sugar pancakes.'

'There are few reasons a man will leave a naked woman in bed, but bacon is one of them.' Castle tossed back the covers, headed for the shower. 'You joining me?'

* * *

Surprisingly, they were not the last ones to the brunch table - that honour belonged to Lanie and Dave, though with a newborn, it wasn't hard to fathom why. As they'd thought they'd find, Meredeth was indeed directing her kitchen monkeys to finish up their dishes - Esposito had the place of honour attending to pancakes while Ryan babysat potatoes and Honey-Milk sliced fruit while keeping an eye on Dell to make sure he didn't torture poor Arturo, back from the kennel in town. Meredeth herself was nudging bacon and ham around on the griddle and giving hints when asked how something looked; the woman had a way of naturally commandeering any kitchen.

'Morning, newlyweds,' she grinned. 'Guess being hungry outweighed being horny, huh?'

Beckett thought of the quickie they'd fit in between shampooing and soaping. 'Not necessarily. Want a hand with anything?'

'Just setting the table. Lanie's finishing feeding Carey, and then she and Dave should be down shortly. Everything else is well in hand. Oh, we're thinking of a little beach volley-ball this afternoon before we get some of that rain they've been yakking about on the radio.'

'Sounds great,' Castle said, watching Beckett take plates into the dining room.

When everyone had gathered and was ready to eat - in addition to breakfast, a pitcher of mimosas had been made as well for toasting - Castle stood up, holding Beckett's hand in his. 'I know we kinda pulled the rug out from under you all yesterday, but honestly, I could have asked for a better wedding to the woman of my dreams, surrounded by friends and family, and I hope if you are half as happy as I am right now, you count yourself the luckiest person in the world.'

He looked over at Beckett, his beautiful bride. 'I know I am.'

They all clinked glasses and dug into the meal with gusto; because it was Meredeth's home-cooking, they not only had maple syrup and whipped cream for their pancakes but also homemade raspberry syrup and peaches pickled with ginger.

Beckett waited until she saw her new husband had his mouth full of pastry to lean over and whisper playfully, 'So when do you want to get started on that 'some'?'

He coughed and spluttered a little. 'You mean like, now?'

'No. God you're still so easy.' She grinned. This marriage thing was going to be a blast.

* * *

R&R&Enjoy.


End file.
